POWERFUL PREACHING

Paul was a powerful preacher. His impact is still felt two millennia later, and has shaken earth and eternity. It was not his personal charisma (he had none) nor his persuasive communication (he could not). In fact, this is what others said of him, “his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible,” (2 Cor.‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬‬). 

The Apostle would not deny the description, as he said this, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Cor.‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭5‬‬). 

Paul gets to the reconciliation of these polar opposites—human frailties overcome by heavenly force. This is what makes for powerful preaching as defined in 1 Thess. 1:5. 

Powerful preaching demands EXPOSITION THAT IS ACCURATE, “Our gospel.”  The Gospel Paul preached was accurate. The message was comprehensible, and convictional. If the message is not accurate, then God will not bless it. One may draw a crowd, but will not build a church.  People do not need novelties and entertainment. They need the Gospel, whether they know it or not and whether they want it or not.

Further, powerful preaching requires EXHORTATION THAT IS ANOINTED, “did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit.”  Paul knew what Martyn Lloyd-Jones called, “The Sacred Anointing.”  Being accurate is essential, but it is not enough. As old Vance Havner said, “You can be straight as a gun barrel theologically, and empty as one spiritually.”  We must have the Holy Spirit’s anointing abiding on us if there is to be true spiritual fruit. This is reinforced in the old hymn, “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.”

Brethren, we have met to worship

And adore the Lord, our God

Will you pray with all your power

While we try to preach the Word?

All is vain unless the Spirit

Of the Holy One comes down

Brethren, pray, and holy manna

Will be showered all around. (George Askins)

Also, powerful preaching calls for an EXAMPLE THAT IS ASSURING, “and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.”  The Apostle did not just declare the truth—he demonstrated it. The old saying is, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”  Something may look tasty, but you do not know for certain, until you put it in your mouth. Assurance that the message is from God is that the preacher does not just speak the Word theoretically, but shows the Word visibly.  The people will receive the message when they see it modeled.  Otherwise, we are heralds who are hypocrites. This short-circuits the power of the Spirit. 

Weigh these words from the aforementioned Lloyd-Jones:

What is this [anointing]? It is the Holy Spirit falling upon the preacher in a special manner. It is an access of power. It is God giving power and enabling, through the Spirit, to the preacher in order that he may do the work in a manner that lifts it up beyond the efforts and endeavors of man to a position in which the preacher is being used by the Spirit and becomes the channel through which the Spirit works (Preaching and Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, p. 305).

God, help us be clothed in power when we speak Your Word!  That is the prayer for myself and all men of God who will preach the Word.

DIMENSIONS OF DIRECTION

Paul exhorts Archippus in his ministry. There are three dimensions in Colossians 4:17 that give direction in Gospel work. The Apostle points the preacher to the past, present, and future. The Holy Spirit inspired Word is as applicable to ministry today as it was then. 

There is the past dimension of calling, “the ministry which you have received in the Lord.”  Paul points Archippus to the sacred work of God in selecting him and setting him apart for his task. We do not deserve this high calling. It is a sovereign work of God’s grace—a treasured opportunity—that we have received. As someone once said, “If God calls you to be a preacher, do not stoop to be the president!”  It would be a step down!  Never get over the marvel that God would call someone such as us to such a noble work. 

There is the present dimension of caution, “Take heed.”  Archippus was being put on alert.  Satan is roving about as a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He will pounce on a preacher quicker than anyone, unless the man of God stays alert to the peril. If Satan can bring down God’s preacher then God’s people will stumble over him. The warning is for caution against compromise doctrinally and morally which disqualify the minister.  We see the scandals of fallen preachers, but must understand that the car wreck of ministry is seldom from a blowout, but a slow leak. They did not “take heed” to the pressure gauge and so little by little in small compromises the disaster eventually comes.

There is the prospective dimension of completion, “that you may fulfill it.”  Archippus is directed to the future—when he will stand before God and give account of his ministry.  We want to finish well, for there awaits the Judgment Seat of Christ. As a preacher has come to the end—he has preached his final sermon—and the last breath will be taken and the last beat of his heart will pulse, we want to have finished faithfully. I want to sprint down the homestretch and cross the finish line in glory a champion. There awaits a crown of completion to those who do.  Peter addresses the preacher who shepherds God’s flock faithfully to the finish as he promises, “and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away,” (1 Pet.‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬‬)!

IN HIS HAND

Preacher, you are in Christ’s hand. Today, as you gather in His name, He has promised to walk among His people. The church is meant to be His lamp stand, shining into the darkness of this world. Whatever challenges you are facing, whatever infirmities you feel, whatever enemies you fight—just know that you are held by the nail-scarred hand of Omnipotence. None can pluck you out of His hand! Be faithful to proclaim the Word, for the Living Word will be faithful to you!

STOP WHINING AND START WINNING

Are we on the verge of World War III?  Is the economy shrinking?  What are we to say of the apparent decline of the church and depravity of the culture?  We can just whine about it—and that will only make things worse.  Or, we can start winning souls to Christ!  That will make a difference!  Spurgeon put it this way:

I know that with many of us there is a tendency to sit down and say, “All things are wrong,  the world gets darker and darker, and everything is going to the bad.” We sit and fret together in most delightful misery, and try to cheer each other downwards into greater depths of despair!  Do we not often act thus? Alas! it is so, and we feel happy to think that other people will blend in blessed harmony of misery with us in all our melancholies; or if we do stir ourselves at little, we feel that there is not much good in our service, and that very little can possibly come of it. This message of our Master seems to me to be something like fine sound of a  trumpet. I have given you the strains of a dulcimer, but now there rings out the clarion note of a trumpet. Here is the power to enable you to “go.” Therefore, “go” away from your dunghills,  away from your ashes and your dust. Shake yourselves from your melancholy. The bugle calls, “Boot and saddle! Up and away!” The battle has begun, and every good soldier of Jesus Christ must be to the front for his Captain and his Lord.  Because all power is given unto Christ, He passes on that power  to His people, and sends them forth to battle and to victory.

I don’t know all that the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. God has made the outcome clear, but the timing is only known to Him. May we have the desperate drive of the four lepers who sat starving outside the besieged city of Samaria and asked, “Why are we sitting here until we die?” (2 Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭3).  God not only provided a miracle for them, but poured out blessing on His people through them.

I think of the thousands of starfish that washed up on the beach in a storm, where they would die. A little lad knowing this picked one up and tossed it into the water, again and again. An old fellow watched with amusement and asked, “Son, do you think that will make any difference?”  The boy picked up another and cast it into the surf. He said, “It did for that one!” 

So, whatever challenges you are facing today—get up and go forward. Stop whining and start winning. 

CHRIST’S COMMISSION

Spurgeon said concerning Christ’s commission:

If any of us would receive a commission for Christian service,  it must come from Christ Himself; if we would carry out that  commission, it must be in loyalty to Christ; and if we hope to  succeed in that commission, it must be in a perpetual, personal  fellowship with Christ. We must begin to work with Him, and go  on working with Him, and never cease to work until He Himself  shall come to discharge us from the service because there is no  further need of it. Oh, that we did all our work in the name of  the great Head of the Church! Oh that we did all Christ’s work  consciously in the presence and in the strength of Christ! (Service and Honor, Spurgeon, p. 42, Kindle edition)

SEEING A SERMON

 

We have all heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  When God sent His Son as the Incarnation of Himself, Jesus was, “The Word made flesh.”  Certainly, Christ spoke the truth about God, but He also showed the truth of God. To see Him was to see the Father. 

While the preacher will not accomplish this absolutely as Jesus did, nevertheless our objective is in speaking the Word in our communication of it, to also show the Word in our submission to it. Paul calls on us to do so in Philippians 3:16, “Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”

There must be OUR DECLARING OF TRUTH, “Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained…”. This is the apprehension of the Word of God.  We have attained a degree of truth, and should persistently seek to apprehend the message increasingly—to get a grip on the truth in such a way that the truth grips us. If the sermon does not move us, we may be sure it will not stir the people!  This is what it means to apprehend something, and in this case, it is to understand the meaning of the text. We grow our people as we grow in our understanding and help them to do so. Yet, with the clarity of God’s revelation, there comes responsibility—for the preacher, as well as the people, to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,” (James 1:22). That brings us to our second point. 

There must also be OUR DEMONSTRATING OF TRUTH, “let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” This is the application of the Word of God. The rule of truth is established to gauge the straightness of our walk. The revelation of truth is expounded to grow the measure of our understanding. The old cliche’ is, “Practice what you preach.”  The familiarity of that phrase does not lessen the necessity of its performance.  This is the hardest part of preaching. While grasping the meaning of the text and conveying it in a clear and compelling manner is a challenge, the rubber meets the road when we not only share the sermon, but show the sermon.  Am I not a hypocrite if I urge the people to do something (read Scripture, pray, evangelize, give, pursue holiness, etc.) that I will not?  This is expressed in a poem by Edgar Guest.

Sermons We See

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; 
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. 
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear, 
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear; 
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds, 
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done; 
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. 
And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, 
But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do; 
For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give, 
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind. 
When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind 
Just to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in me 
To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be. 
And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today 
Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.

One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold; 
One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told. 
Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear, 
For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear. 
Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say, 
I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.

SUCCESSFUL SERVICE

Surely none of us want to fail in ministry. Yet, what are the standards for successful service?  The church world typically measures success in terms of numbers of congregants in the church pews and cash in the collection plate.  While it is true that these might indicate the blessing of God on a man’s leadership, it may also be attributed to the circumstances conducive to such growth along with the human capacity of the leader. Paul did not have such credentials.  As he wrote to the Philippians, he was confined to a dungeon. Yet, he was confident of the Lord’s commendation. So, let us not discount statistical measurements, but look deeper to spiritual indicators found in Philippians 2:12-18.  By these we can all be successful servants.

The first is OUR DYNAMIC FOR SERVICE. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure,” (v. 12-13). The dynamic for successful service is seen to be the power of God at work in us and through us. We work out what God works in. It is not about what our skills can accomplish, but what God’s strength can do. Our reliance is on a Sovereign Lord “to will and to do for His good pleasure,” and thus He gets all the glory. It is about His name and not our fame!  

The second is OUR DISPOSITION IN SERVICE. “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” (v. 14-15). If any man had a reason to gripe about his conditions and seek to get even with his enemies it would have been Paul. All he did was seek to serve the Lord and share the good news. For this, he was beaten cruelly and bound unjustly. Yet, he exhibited a disposition that was “blameless and harmless.”  He reflected the image of His Father and calls on us to do so. We labor “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,” and so can expect mistreatment. Yet, having such a sacrificial spirit as that of the Lord Jesus—the Light of the World—and is how we “shine as lights in the world.”  This world is a dark place, but that makes our light even more needful.

That brings us to the third standard of OUR DECLARATION IN SERVICE. We are to be, “holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain,” (v. 16). As mentioned in the previous verse, our light is to shine—to show the way of salvation. Every church should be a Gospel Lighthouse. Gospel light is needed. Often our pulpits promote Gospel-lite instead!  We must hold fast to the truth and then extend it as a lifeline to the lost. The old hymn urges:

1 Throw out the lifeline across the dark wave;

There is a brother whom someone should save;

Somebody’s brother, O who then will dare

To throw out the lifeline, his peril to share?

Refrain:

Throw out the lifeline! Throw out the lifeline!

Someone is drifting away;

Throw out the lifeline! Throw out the lifeline!

Someone is sinking today.

2 Throw out the lifeline with hand quick and strong;

Why do you tarry, why linger so long?

See, he is sinking, O hasten today;

And out with the lifeboat, away, then, away! [Refrain]

3 Throw out the lifeline to danger-fraught men,

Sinking in anguish where you’ve never been;

Winds of temptation and billows of woe

Will soon hurl them out where the dark waters flow. [Refrain]

4 Soon will the season of rescue be o’er;

Soon will they drift to eternity’s shore;

Haste then, my brother, no time for delay!

But throw out the lifeline and save them today. [Refrain}

We cannot make others grasp the Gospel, but we can assure that we give it out! To be faithful no matter the response means, “that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”

There is a fourth matter and that is OUR DEVOTION IN SERVICE. “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all,” (v. 17). Our service is an act of worship—as we pour ourselves out on the altar as living sacrifices, (cf. Rom. 12:1). Successful ministry is about sweat and sobs; labor and lament; work and weeping. It is ultimately not about recognition here, but reward hereafter.  Far better to be a little-known humble servant in this world that we might be summoned to the head table by the Lord.  What a day of rejoicing that will be!  Don’t be a glory hound sniffing the trail for headlines in the Baptist Press, but a devoted servant wherever God assigns you.  The Lord sees and knows and He is the ultimate arbiter of success!

That brings us to the fifth and final issue of OUR DELIGHT IN SERVICE. “For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me,” (v. 18). Rejoicing is the theme of this little letter. Three times in these six verses Paul repeats the word, “rejoice,” as he speaks of the delight he felt despite the difficulties he faced. We cannot control our circumstances, but we can control our response to them. This is a a decision, even more than an emotion. Feelings will fluctuate and circumstances will change, but our satisfaction in the Lord can be steadfast.

If you pursue and practice these principles, then no matter what men may think, our Master will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”