THE SUCCESSFUL SERMON

 

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

 It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55:11)

What makes a sermon successful?  Is it that people applaud it?  Do we not recall the hostility the prophets often met in response to their message?  Perhaps it is by the crowds that gather in eagerness to hear us—but what of how the preaching of Jesus would lead people to walk away from Him?  The Apostles’ sermons could cause led a mob to beat them rather than a crowd to bless them!

How often does the man of God slump in exhaustion as the darkness of disappointment envelops him!  The preacher has poured out his soul in delivering that which the Lord has thrust upon him—“the burden of the LORD,” as the Old Testament prophets called it—and the people sat silent and unmoved as a stone.  Not to mention the times when we were met with criticism over the message—sharp barbs, poisoned with anger, plunged into our heart.

No wonder so many resignation letters are written in the pastor’s study on Monday morning.

Maybe we have failed.

That is always possible, of course.  We may have failed to prepare ourselves spiritually and studiously—our hearts empty and our mouths correspondingly.  The preacher may lean on the flesh, trust in homiletics alone, and not depend on the Holy Spirit.  Unrepentant sin may short-circuit our usefulness, damming up the flow of grace to and through us.  The pastor can become so enamored with his own popularity that he seeks his glory and not God’s.  This is the path to failure in the sermon.

Yet, we may shun all of that, ready ourselves as best of may, and still not see the visible results we desire.  It may be that we do not understand what makes a successful sermon.  It is simply this: being faithful to the Word of God in dependence on the Spirit of God—having prepared to use to the full the gifts God has placed in me, and all for His glory.  If I do that, then no matter the evaluation of man, the Word of God has accomplished its mission.  The sermon is successful.  God has promised to always fulfill its purpose.  Can you then fail?  “Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.’ ”  (Rom.3:4)  Only God’s verdict on our message ultimately matters, and He stamps such preaching: SUCCESSFUL!