Untitled Sermon
What you say is more important than how you say it. But how you say it has never been more important.
This plumb line, this dictum, this homiletical “must” statement has biblical warrant and support. We find it embedded in the wisdom of Solomon when he says in Ecclesiastes 12:9–10 that the wise Preacher (ESV) or Teacher (HCSB) “taught the people knowledge … words of truth” (the what) and that he “sought to find delightful sayings [“acceptable words” NKJV; “just the right words” NIV] … like goads, and … firmly embedded nails” (the how). As he draws this book to a close, the Teacher talks about sound instruction that is presented in an attractive and compelling manner. This is how he has sought to present his thoughts in Ecclesiastes. He reminds us it is important to say the right thing and in the right way.
Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “What is preaching? Logic on fire. Eloquent reason! Are these contradictions? Of course they are not!” (Preaching and Preachers, 97).
Logic! what
Fire! how
Eloquent! how
Reason! what
How the preacher delivers the knowledge of God’s Word is critically important. Three essentials are noted in Ecclesiastes 12:9:
• He pondered or weighed carefully what he wrote and said.
• He sought out or explored—he dug deep into the knowledge content he would present.
• He set in order or arranged many proverbs—he considered how best to deliver wise sayings, wisdom, words of truth. Here the word proverbs is broader in meaning than our word in English. It has the idea of wise sayings or teachings that are words of divine revelation.
Solomon says in 12:11–12, “The sayings of the wise are like goads” that prick and “nails” that stick. They prick us and help push us in the right direction. They will move us into action—action that leads us to being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). Koller says,
The supreme test of all preaching is: what happens in the pew? To John the Baptist there was accorded the highest tribute that could ever come to a minister of the gospel; when they had heard John, “they followed Jesus!” (Expository Preaching, 19)
Wise words are like goads. They prod the sluggish and hesitant into action. They have a power to provide a mental and spiritual stimulus, a spiritual shot in the arm.
1. What does this text teach us about God?
2. What does this text teach us about fallen man?
3. What do I want my people to know?
4. What do I want my people to do?
5. How does this text point to Jesus?
You see, Jesus teaches us in Luke 24 that all of Scripture is about Him—all of it. That includes the book of Ecclesiastes, as we have seen in our verse-by-verse study