Preaching the Word... (2)

(Let’s read )

For many pastor’s I know time to study in preparation for preaching often gets squeezed out of a pastor’s busy schedule. Yet amid the competing demands of ministry, the study and preaching of the word of God should be the central focus of every faithful pastor’s ministry.

A pastor is called to preach. And that involves study. It involves

Personal reflection on the word.

It involves meditation and prayer.

There are no shortcuts or substitutes for these things. A pastor is not just called to preach God’s word, but to preach a word that has been

Deeply internalized and

Appropriately applied to his people

In this study, I want to do more than simply affirm the importance of preaching; I want to commend a particular process of preparing to preach.

Paul tells Timothy in that part of preaching the word is being prepared for that work, and I believe preparation necessarily involves a commitment to study and prayer—a process that cannot be substituted. Preparing to preach involves a definite commitment of a pastor’s heart and time. Without that commitment, a pastor’s public ministry of the word of God will never be all that it can be, nor will it be what God designed it to be.

A Biblical Command: Preach

Throughout the pages of Scripture God speaks to his people through an appointed leader. God speaks and seeks a response from his people. In the Old Testament, God chooses a nation—Israel—from among the other nations to be his special people. Israel failed to respond to this word as God desired, turning away in sin and idolatry, yet this pattern of God speaking through mediators and calling for a response, would remain consistent throughout the story line of Scripture.

Israel

When the descendants of Jacob were enslaved by the Egyptians, God listened to the cries of his people in Egypt and rescued them from their slavery. Moses became God’s appointed leader, and he was responsible to bring God’s word to the people. God made a covenant with his people through the mediation of Moses, who declared God’s word to the people. The people responded in agreement. Here is the scene as this covenant (known as the “old covenant”) between God and Israel is made. Let’s read

Notice that the people and the elders are not allowed into God’s presence. Instead, they need someone to represent them and mediate God’s word to them. God’s design is to communicate his word through an appointed leader (Moses), who will hear that word from God and deliver it to the people. The people respond to the word with one voice, declaring they will obey ().

Despite the faithfulness of God, the people do not obey; they rebel. Yet God continues speaking to his people through appointed leaders who speak his word, always calling for a response to that word. This pattern is seen throughout the ministry of the prophets. The prophets remind the people of God’s law, his covenant with them, and they let the people know God calls them to repent and turn back to him. Again, the people reject that word, yet the appointed mouthpieces of the Lord remain faithful to speak what God has revealed for them. Many of them suffer and are persecuted because of their obedience.

The Church

The long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ, is the one who inaugurates a new covenant. Through his perfect life, death, and resurrection, Jesus purchases with his own blood a people for himself. Unlike Israel, these redeemed people have God’s Spirit placed in them and God’s word written on their hearts so they are able to obey God’s word (). God’s people are now able to hear his word through his appointed servants and respond in obedience. The church depends on the preaching of God’s word for its life.

On the day of Pentecost we see how the Holy Spirit comes on God’s messengers in a powerful way (). With the pouring out of the Spirit, the church is birthed, and we see on full display God’s fulfillment of his plan to build his kingdom. God’s appointed messenger, the apostle Peter, preaches the gospel () and calls his hearers to respond to God’s word about Jesus (). The people respond in repentance, faith, and willingness to be baptized (). The apostolic preaching of the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit is the means by which God builds his church.

As the apostles pass on the torch to the next generation, the pattern set by the apostles is continued. Pastors of local churches continue preaching the apostolic witness for the establishment, growth, and health of the people of God. Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus reveal the importance of the ministry of the word. Paul exhorts Timothy to guard the good deposit of the gospel and sound teaching from God’s word, for it has been entrusted to him.

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.” ()

God’s divine design throughout the ages to build his kingdom of redeemed people culminates in this powerful charge: “Preach the word.” Paul explains how, when, and why a pastor is to preach the word and that it should be done with the patience and precision of a gifted, called shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pastors are entrusted to care for the souls of people as men who will give an account (). The apostles knew a lot was at stake. They took seriously their responsibility to teach and to train a new generation of pastors who would accept the mantle from them.

Let’s read what Paul writes to Timothy… ()

13 "Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 14 "Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 "Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 "Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.” ()

This charge, while applicable in some sense to all believers, is specially given to Spirit-filled, gifted men who are biblically qualified pastors (). They are called to preach the word to the people they shepherd, to live that word, and to call people to respond to the gospel.

Even though we live in a different time and culture, the fact remains that God’s church is built this same way today. The Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) outline a detailed template for preaching and how this builds the church. Pastors must study and prepare themselves so they can hear God’s word. A pastor internalizes that word and then preaches it to the people by the Spirit, calling his particular people to respond in obedience. This is more than a human activity; it is a divinely designed spiritual experience between a pastor and his congregation. And the work of preparation is an essential component. It does not happen when a pastor preaches another’s sermons or skimps on the work of preparation. The heart work is key as well, and it is well worth the investment of time as it bears spiritual fruit.

Seeking to Preach like a Shepherd at FBR.

In our fellowship here, we want to ensure that the congregation (God’s people) are consistently exposed to the word of God, we’ve come to the conviction that the best way to preach faithfully and accurately is to preach expository sermons.

An expository sermon flows from and is built completely on a text from Scripture, not on an idea, a doctrine, an event, or a topic. To help visualize this, imagine a stack of building blocks where the bottom foundational block is a text of Scripture.

In building an expository message, every block you place in the sermon is built on this block. Expository preaching functions best when pastors preach passage by passage through different books of the Bible.

I have three reasons for believing expository sermons are the most helpful and faithful way for a pastor to feed his people regularly:

1. Expository sermons affirm the authority, power, and sufficiency of Scripture.

For example does adultery and murder happen in our culture? yes...

How about rape, incest, and murder in your family? yes...

Well we could preach through 2 Samuel and cover all those cultural issues from scripture in two weeks.

God’s people need to hear what God is saying through these passages, and we as pastors need to wrestle with them to understand what God wants us to learn from them. Preach the hard passages. If your congregation sees you are not afraid to wrestle with them, then they will surely grow less afraid of them too.

2. Expository sermons help our people know how to read their Bibles as intended.

The Pastor’s Ministry: Biblical Priorities for Faithful Shepherds How to Preach like a Shepherd

2. Expository sermons help our people know how to read their Bibles as intended.

A pastor and his people will come to better understand the meaning of each book or section of Scripture. I am always amazed at how much better I understand a writer’s intent after preaching through the natural flow of his argument.

3. Expository sermons help keep a pastor focused on preaching God’s words instead of human words.

Expository sermons on entire books of the Bible provide a fruitful and steady diet for a church. This type of preaching also teaches listeners how to read their Bibles. When we commit to preaching through books of the Bible, not picking and choosing what we want to read or study, we teach our people to do the same on their own.

Seeking to Preach with our own people in mind.

The task of preaching is more than just preaching the word; it involves carefully and wisely applying that word to the lives of the people entrusted to your care. As you prepare to preach God’s word, you should have your people on your mind. Think about the difficulties they are facing, the challenges in their lives right now. How does God’s word from this passage minister grace to them? Ask questions like,

How does this truth relate to ________’s marriage?

How does this characteristic of God speak to the pain _______ is feeling after losing her husband?

How does this passage help sister ________ care for her home more faithfully?

How does this passage help ____ deal with his difficult boss,

or minister grace to ______, who just found out she has cancer?

A pastor should have specific people on his mind to help him apply the truth of God’s word directly to the unique situations in his congregation (this is a big reason why people should pray for their preacher).

Remember you aren’t just a voice mechanically communicating a message; you are a shepherd of God’s people. Think like a shepherd. Push your people to grow, but do it wisely. Nurture them by meeting them where they are. Then trust that God will use his word and your efforts to find a balance than encourages growth.

Preach with Yourself in Mind...

In , what the apostle urge Timothy pay close attention to?

A preacher of God’s word will not have the same impact on his people if he has not first been deeply affected by the word.

The nineteenth-century English pastor Archibald Brown understood this as he spoke to his congregation:

Oh, brethren and sisters, I would to God I could speak to you this morning as I would. I only wish I could make this text blaze away before your eyes as it has before my own. I would that its tremendous force might be realized by you, as it has been felt in my own heart before coming here. Oh, how it would shake some of you out of your selfishness, out of your worldliness, out of your pandering to the maxims of this world.

Brown’s words capture an essential element of powerful preaching: A preacher must be deeply affected by the word he steps into the pulpit to preach. Before he can persuade a sinner to turn to Christ, he must first be persuaded himself. Before a preacher can convince fellow Christians to trust in the promises of God, he must first believe those promises. Pastors cannot be changed by the word unless they spend time in the word as they prepare to preach. It is essential that every pastor preaching God’s word makes sure this word is a part of him and that he truly believes what he has prepared to preach. This heart preparation gives his preaching an earnestness that only comes from meeting with God and experiencing his help.

This help only comes through the work of the Holy Spirit. A pastor should first realize his own inability to preach powerfully and faithfully apart from the work of the Spirit. Gifted, eloquent pastors are tempted to rely on their own gifts and abilities when they stand before their people to preach. But every pastor, regardless of their own gifts or abilities, must realize that the power in their preaching comes from rightly handling the word of God through the Holy Spirit.

A. W. Tozer cuts through much of the superficial and cultural emphasis of our day in regard to preaching with these insightful words:

Let me shock you at this point. A naturally bright person can carry on religious activity without a special gift from God. Filling church pulpits every week are some who are using only natural abilities and special training. Some are known as Bible expositors, for it is possible to read and study commentaries and then repeat what has been learned about the Scriptures. Yes, it may shock you, but it is true that anyone able to talk fluently can learn to use religious phrases and can become recognized as a preacher.

But if any person is determined to preach so that his work and ministry will abide in the day of the judgment fire, then he must preach, teach, and exhort with the kind of love and concern that comes only through a genuine gift of the Holy Spirit—something beyond his own capabilities.

A pastor’s intellect, gifts, training, and speaking ability are all helpful in the preaching task, but they do not make one a powerful, Spirit-filled preacher. Powerful preaching comes through a work of the Spirit when God stirs the pastor’s own heart, and a love for his people and the souls of men rise as his greatest burden.

Modern pastors should heed Paul’s words to “watch your life and doctrine” through diligent study and preparation to preach. This means not just thinking about the best way to communicate to people, but also about preaching to our own hearts. A pastor’s greatest asset when preaching the word is not a sharp mind or smooth eloquence, but rather a humble and contrite heart before the Lord, relying on the Holy Spirit to do its work.

Conclusion

God builds his church and his kingdom through his appointed messengers who speak God’s word. This is how the church was birthed, and it is how God will continue to build the modern church to display his glory. God builds his church, and he does it by his Spirit breathing life into the church through his life-giving word. A pastor’s task is to preach the word with deep passion because his own mind, heart, and soul have been moved by it throughout his preparation. He is to prepare the message with his own unique group of people on his mind, thinking of how to speak this life-giving word into their lives. He is to proclaim God’s word as if life and death, heaven and hell, hang in the balance. Pastors, make it your aim to guard the good deposit entrusted to you until the Chief Shepherd returns, passing on that deposit to the next generation.