Pastors, here’s some good counsel from Oswald Chambers—
“Oh for that man of God who will hand over to God that hearts God has called through him! It is not you who awakened that mighty desire in the heart; it is not you who called forth that longing in that spirit; it is God in you. Are you a servant of God? Then point them to Him.”
I love that! Point them to Him!
Pastor, perhaps this prayer from Oswald Chambers should be one we pray each time we prepare to deliver a message…
“O Lord, that I might be brought into Your presence, and to see things from Your standpoint. I have to speak to Your people this morning, anoint me afresh, O Lord, with Your gracious Spirit. … O Lord, as we consider the ___ chapter of _______ this morning, light it up with Your glory; soften and subdue, inspire and thrill, and raise us on to the level of such glorious service that we may catch Your likeness.”
Amen!
Surveys reveal that people in the United States do not have a highly favorable view of evangelical Christians, nor of pastors of evangelical Christian churches.
I agree with John Maxwell’s maxim that everything rises and falls on leadership, so this unfavorable view of evangelical Christians must be addressed first in the pastorate. The 2400-year-old words from the prophet Malachi still ring true today—
“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.” (Malachi 2:7-9)
Uh oh!
Is it possible, my dear fellow pastor, that if we become men and women of the Word of God that the views of the population might begin to change?
Augustine
Pastor, what do you think of these words?
“By praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he [a pastor] must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words. As the hour of his address approaches, before he opens his thrusting lips he should lift his thirsting soul to God so that he may utter what he has drunk in and pour out what has filled him.” —Augustine of Hippo
“There are many who think they must only preach the Word, and that the Spirit will make the Word fruitful. They do not understand that it is the Spirit, in and through the preacher, who will bring the Word to the heart of the listeners. I must not be satisfied with praying to God to bless through the operation of His Spirit the Word that I preach. The Lord wants me to be filled with the Spirit; then I will speak as I should and my preaching will be in the manifestation of the Spirit and power.”
—Andrew Murray
Bob Klingenberg
Pastor, let this sink in…
“Someday I will stand before The Word to give an account for every word I’ve preached.” —Rev. Bob Klingenberg
How does that make you feel?
It makes me realize how much more I need the Holy Spirit’s help in my study time! And I pray this prayer from Oswald Chambers almost weekly before I deliver the message God has laid on my heart—
In my preaching, cause Thy glorious voice to be heard, Thy lovely face to be seen, Thy pervasive Spirit felt.
My fellow pastor, many times we pray before our sermons, but have you considered praying after your sermon too? These words from Andrew Murray challenged me to do so—
Preaching must always be followed up by prayer. The preacher must come to see that his preaching is comparatively powerless to bring new life until he begins to take time for prayer, and according to the teaching of God’s Word, he strives and labors and continues in prayer; and he takes no rest and gives God no rest until He bestows the Spirit in overflowing power.
John Witherspoon
Is there right time to address politicized topics from the pulpit? I believe there is, but I believe we must make sure we’re not promoting our opinion but standing up for biblical principles.
Pastors were pivotal in swaying public opinion prior to the American Revolution and in the abolition of slavery in the United States. One pastor that spoke forcefully and biblically about the independence of the thirteen colonies was John Witherspoon—
“If your cause is just—you may look with confidence to the Lord and intreat [sic] Him to plead it as His own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature.”
Commenting on the decision of Rev. Witherspoon to address this topic from the pulpit, theologian T.M. Moore wrote—
“Preachers tend to stay away from sticky moral and political issues, simply because they know it riles up certain folks for them to do so. Witherspoon spoke out in his day because the cause of the nation was just. But so many unjust causes are afoot in our nation at the moment, that for pastors not to speak up and equip their people to understand the times and know what we as communities should do, is not only a betrayal of our Founders, but a betrayal of their calling and of the Word of God (Ezekiel 33).”
That’s a strong statement: Pastors that don’t speak out on the immoral issues of our time are betraying their calling. I tend to agree with him. What do you think? Is there a time and place for politics in the pulpit?
You may also want to check out my videos How Christians can live biblically in an election season and The Church should be pre-political.
Pastor, do you preach your sermons to yourself? You should, because you need to hear the Word of God more than your congregation does!
If you are going to speak the living Word of God to others, you need to be a pure vessel for God’s use. You need to allow the Holy Spirit to break you and pour you out. Consider these words from Smith Wigglesworth—
You cannot take people into the depths of God unless you have been broken yourself. … God wants to bring you forth as a flame of fire with a message from God, with a truth that will disturb the powers of satan, and with an unlimited supply for every needy soul.
How important it is for all God’s ministers to be continually in prayer and constantly feeding on the Scriptures of Truth. … None of you can be strong in God unless you are diligently and constantly listening to what God has to say to you through His Word. You cannot know the power and the nature of God unless you partake of His inbreathed Word.
Oh, if I could only stir you up to see that, as you are faithful in the humblest role, God can fill you with His Spirit, make you a chosen vessel for Himself, and promote you to a place of mighty ministry in the salvation of souls and in the healing of the sick. Nothing is impossible to a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The possibilities are beyond all human comprehension. When you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, God will wonderfully work wherever you go.
(From his book On Healing, emphasis added)
My dear pastor, please prayerfully consider these words from Charles Spurgeon, and allow the Holy Spirit to help you answer the question: “Am I preaching Christ crucified?”
“Let me very briefly tell you what I believe preaching Christ and Him crucified is. My friends, I do not believe it is preaching Christ and Him crucified, to give people a batch of philosophy every Sunday morning and evening, and neglect the truths of this Holy Book. I do not believe it is preaching Christ and Him crucified, to leave out the main cardinal doctrines of the Word of God, and preach a religion which is all a mist and a haze, without any definite truths whatever. I take it that man does not preach Christ and Him crucified, who can get through a sermon without mentioning Christ’s name once; nor does that man preach Christ and Him crucified, who leaves out the Holy Spirit’s work, who never says a word about the Holy Spirit, so that indeed the hearers might say, ‘We do not so much as know whether there be a Holy Spirit.’”
—C.H. Spurgeon
It is so vital that we preach the full counsel of the Word of God boldly. Don’t be afraid of the reaction of those in your congregation. Rather, preach to hear Christ say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Craig T. Owens 