The Goal of our Preaching

Definition of Preaching

2 Timothy 4:2 “2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

You all sit through a lot of preaching.

There is nothing else that occupies our time together more than preaching.

Is this a narcissistic move on the part of the preacher?

Or is right that we spend this much time on this one activity?

There are a lot of very flowery definitions of preaching.

At it’s most basic, it is the transfer of a message to a group of people.

The word that it is based on throughout the NT (kerusso) is a word that refers to a herald or a town crier.

That same word is also translated in the Bible to mean publish or proclaim.

Preaching is almost always an audio event.

But, it is not exclusively an audio event.

Visual communication is necessary.

Gestures

Visual aids

Facial expression

Kinesthetic learning should also be used in preaching.

This is essentially practicing or acting out what you’ve been shown and taught.

This is a part of the message that the preacher has the least influence over.

Preaching is a transactional event.

Preaching is distinct from motivational speaking.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 KJV 1900

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

A preacher is not trying to empower you.

A preacher should be seeking to connect you to a power outside your own.

This is evident in the subject matter of a Bible preacher’s message.

We preach the cross.

We preach the gospel.

48 times in the NT Paul is recorded as preaching Christ or preaching the gospel.

The essence of the gospel is what Jesus did and what we could not do.

The Goal of our Preaching

We are trying to change the way people act, but more importantly we are trying to change the way people think.

Paul emphasized the power of right thinking many times.

Philippians 4:8 “8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

We need to change our thinking so that is corresponds to the principles of scripture.

We don’t conform the Bible to our standards.

We conform our standards to the Bible.

We want to have right thinking about...

Who we are.

Who God is.

Relationships with Him, ourselves, and others.

We want to promote a grace-based life not a performance driven life.

We are also trying to take a book that is thousands of years old and apply it to a modern context.

Think about this, though.

Paul was closer to Abraham than we are to Paul.

And yet that didn’t stop Paul from referring to Abraham to make a point to his modern audience.

Romans 4:3 “3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”

In order for us to do this successfully, we have to be able to extract the biblical principals the way that Paul did.

He used Abraham.

We can too.

We don’t have the same circumstances as Abraham, but there is something we should have in common with him.

We should believe God too.

Biblical preaching points us to the biblical principle that was exercised in an ancient world and helps us practice that same principle in a modern world.

This is how we learn how to Biblically address issues in our day that were not present when the Bible was written.

If we believe the Bible has the answers, we should be able to present them.

Examples of Preaching

The Old and New Testaments are filled with examples of preachers.

Noah

Moses

Joshua

Samuel

Jeremiah

Jesus

Peter

Paul

These are just a few.

We learn a lot from the examples of these people.

We see their reliance on God.

All these people got their message from God.

Even Jesus said in John 12:49 “49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”

We also see the reception they received from the people they preached to.

So many of the preachers that I mentioned were met with stubbornness and a refusal to listen.

Others, like John the Baptist were met with opposition and persecution.

A preacher cannot control the response, he can only control the delivery.

Conclusion

Preaching is an audio event where a message is delivered to a group of people.

It is moving for a response.

Change your actions.

Change your thoughts

We can learn from the examples of preachers and audiences in the past.

I get my message from God.

You avoid the mistakes of those who disregarded God’s messages in the past.

Preaching is an essential part of the Christian life and of the ministry of the local church.

Mark 16:15 “15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”