We read in Jonah 3:5, “The people of Nineveh believed God. They decided to stop eating for a time to think about their sins. They put on special clothes to show they were sorry. All the people in the city did this, from the most important to the least important.” (ERV)
The people of Nineveh believed in God because of the preaching of Jonah. As Jonah preached the word of God as instructed by God, there was a major transformation among the people of Nineveh. Up until then, they had no fear of God, and had no thought that God was observing them. They therefore did not walk circumspectly and justly before God. The preaching of Jonah convicted the people of Nineveh, and brought about a genuine change of heart.
We read in Jonah 3:4, Jonah went to the center of the city and began speaking to the people. He said, "After 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!" (ERV)
When Jonah preached, the people of Nineveh understood that there was impending doom if they did not repent, and hence they immediately chose to repent from their sinful ways.
We hear a lot of preaching these days, and some of them do not strengthen one’s faith in God, but often cause confusion in the hearts of those who hear them. In this message I wish for us to consider some of the basic things that we should be mindful of, as those who preach the word of God.
1. Preaching should be based on the word of God
• Jesus explained from the scriptures
In Luke 24:27 we read, “Then he began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with the books of Moses and then he talked about what the prophets had said about him.”(ERV)
When the risen Lord Jesus was walking with two of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, we read that He began to explain the scriptures to them. Beginning from the book of Moses, he explained to them all that Moses, and the prophets had spoken about Him. Jesus Himself took the written word, and taught those disciples so they could understand who He really was.
It is therefore important that the word of God should be the basis of our preaching, whenever we preach.
This was the experience of those disciples who heard Jesus teach them as recorded in Luke 24:32, They said to each other, "When he talked to us on the road, it felt like a fire burning in us. How exciting it was when he explained to us the true meaning of the Scriptures!" (ERV)
The experience of these disciples who heard Jesus’ teaching was that it warmed their hearts, and generated a sense of excitement within them. These two disciples were walking down that road with confused minds, but when the Lord broke the word to them, all of their confusion was replaced with clarity.
A sermon or message when preached with the word of God as the authority is certain to bring about a major shift in the lives of those who hear it. This is what should happen every time we speak the word of God, it should ignite a fire, and kindle in us a desire to change. Sometimes we find that sermons are preached based on the teaching of the founder or on the books that are being produced by an organization, and minimal importance is given to bible. If we are part of such a group we must seek God’s counsel to free ourselves from such. It is only when we remain in a place where God’s word is preached accurately from the written word, are we safe for otherwise, we could be led astray into false teachings.
All scripture as we know is God-breathed, written by men of God who were inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. There are more than 40 men who authored the various books of the bible, and each one of them were from varying backgrounds. Some were shepherds, kings, prophets, and some disciples of Jesus. Though there are thousands of years that transpired between the writing of the book of Genesis to the book of revelation, there is a thread of continuity that is astounding to all. The bible recounts everything from creation, the fall of man, to God’s redemptive plan to restore fallen man back to the place that God intended for Him. Therefore it is vital that our preaching must always have as its basis the word of God, and should never be replaced by other men’s sermons or teachings. If one does not have the Bible as the foundation for preaching, the consequence will be confusion.
• Human traditions should not replace God’s word
In Mark 7:7 we read, “It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!'” (GNB)
Here the Lord Jesus was explaining how the religious leaders in His days were teaching human rules as though they were the laws of God. Jesus was quoting from the prophecies of Isaiah that by so doing the religious leaders had made their worship of no use to God.
If we overemphasize the teachings of men over the word of God, our worship too will be considered to be in vain, and of no value to God. As we hear the word of God being preached, we must have discernment to perceive if they are the words of God, or just the imagination and teachings of men.
• Questions regarding the Sabbath
It is recorded in Luke 6:2-3, Some Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what our Law says you cannot do on the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? (GNB)
Jesus was often questioned by the religious leaders on various points in different occasions. Jesus’ reply to them was straightforward when He responded and said, “Haven’t you read?” Every so often Jesus did this to bring these people to focus back to what was written in the scriptures.
Let me focus for a while on this particular question that was raised by the Pharisees in the passage mentioned above. Their question to Jesus was, "Why are you doing what our Law says you cannot do on the Sabbath?" These men were so focused on the Sabbath day, and were therefore more concerned about what should be done, and what should not be done on that specific day, rather than the purpose of the Sabbath. The Lord who created the world and everything in it, had to remind these religious leaders about an incident that happened in the life of David and his men from the Old Testament when they were hungry. Jesus had to remind them that they had not read the scriptures well enough, and therefore had gotten stuck with the traditions of men over the laws of God. Though Jesus taught a lot about the Sabbath, the people were still blinded by their traditions. They failed to understand that all of the law including the Sabbath were pointing to Christ, and that everything in the law was only a shadow pointing to the reality who was Jesus Christ. God therefore desires that we too should fully understand the word, and thereby can fulfill what God truly desires from us.
2. Preach from the known and move towards the unknown
Preaching should begin with a topic that people are familiar with, and should move towards teaching those things that are not fully known.
• Paul at Athens
A good example of this is found in Acts 17:22-23, where “Paul stood in the middle of the court and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious. As I was going through your city and looking closely at the objects you worship, I noticed an altar with this written on it: 'To an unknown god.' I'm telling you about the unknown god you worship. (GW)
When Paul looked around at the city of Athens, he recognized the kind of worship the people were involved in. Paul therefore took the opportunity to begin his preaching with what was known to the people, to preach to them about the Lord Jesus whom they did not know.
When we preach this way, we can be certain that it will draw the attention of our hearers to listen to what we have to say.
• Stephen at the Sanhedrin
Another example is found in Acts chapter 7 where Stephen preached to the people who had gathered before the Sanhedrin. Stephen started off with Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, King Solomon, and finally preached about Jesus. We will almost find an entire summary of the Old Testament in this sermon that Stephen preached that day. It will give one the sense that they have actually gone through the Old Testament with a quick overview. This particular sermon of Stephen that is recorded in Acts was actually a seed in the transformation of Saul who later became Paul.
The messages we hear when preached with clarity, and when founded on God’s word are certain to transform our lives, and turn them around.
3. Preaching should prompt people to change
• When John the Baptist preached
We read in Luke 3:10, The people asked him, "What are we to do, then?" (GNB)
When the crowds heard the preaching of John the Baptist, the question that they asked him was, “What are we to do then?” John the Baptist was forthright, and not courteous in his preaching. Nonetheless, since it came with the power of the Holy Spirit, it stirred the hearts of the people and motivated them to change.
• When Jesus preached
There were many who heard the preaching of Jesus too. We read of their response in John 6:28 So they asked him, "What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?" (GNB)
Here again the people asked the same thing. The teachings of Jesus convicted them that their ways were wrong, and that if they continued in it, they would end up with destruction. Therefore, they truly wanted to know what they should do to get back to the ways of God.
• When the Apostles preached
The apostles preached in the early church and this is what happened. It is recorded in Act 2:37, When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do, brothers?" (GNB)
When the crowds that gathered heard the preaching of Peter, they were so pricked in their hearts that they were immediately prompted to take steps to change their ways. The word that was preached was not sweet to their ears, but rather was so strong that it troubled their hearts.
While preaching the word we must keep in mind that there is a big difference between condemning someone, and sensitizing someone. Whenever the Holy Spirit deals with a person, He will convict them of sin, and prompt them to change. However, sometimes men try to wound people hoping to bring about change, where in reality it make the person feel more sinful, and drowns them in guilt. Our motive for preaching should always be to bring change in the lives of people, and this can be brought about only by the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The work of the Holy Spirit in preaching
These are the words of Jesus about the Holy Spirit in John 16:8, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:”(ESV)
There are three things that the Holy Spirit will do in the lives of people who hear the word of God.
1. Convict people of sin
2. Convict people of righteousness
3. Convict people of judgement
• Preach about sin
Conviction of sin means to feel remorse for the wrongs that one does based on the word of God. We have to teach that anything we do that is contrary to the word of God, and His standards is sin. Sin we should explain as missing the mark, the high standard that God has set for us as human beings, just like an arrow would miss the bullseye. People can easily understand this simply by just sharing the word of God as it is. It is not our duty to hurt people or condemn them, but to just share what the bible teaches about sin. There is a lot of preaching about darkness these days, but let us be reminded that when Jesus the light of the world comes into our lives all of the darkness in our lives will flee. There is no way darkness will reside inside of a person anymore who has the Lord as their light.
• Preach about righteousness
We should not stop here, but move on to the next step to explain righteousness. All of us stand before a holy God who is well aware of every detail of our lives. Our desire is that we should stand faultless before this Holy God. There is no human being who could do this, and that is why God the Father sent His Son Jesus into this world to bear on Himself the sins of all mankind. By dying on the cross, Jesus took our sins on Himself. Everyone who believes that Jesus took their sins on Himself, and shed His precious blood on their behalf will receive the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. In two places we read that God the Father testified that Jesus was indeed His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. We must give people the assurance that this righteousness of God is available to anyone who is repentant, and is ready to put their faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
• Preach about judgement
Thirdly, we must remember that the Holy Spirit will also teach about judgement. There are many who want to convince themselves that their lives are for here and now, and that there is no need to fear any judgement. The word of God is clear in Hebrews 9:27, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (ESV) No one can escape this judgement, and our preaching must include this part as well. There is a day of judgement that awaits all mankind, a day to give account for all that they have done. Anyone who accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus offers is assured of heaven, and those who reject it will have to face eternal separation from God in hell. Since both of these places are eternal, it is important that we preach about judgement as well.
The people of Nineveh heard the preaching of Jonah, and repented. Wherever we are given an opportunity to share the word may we be able to build the faith of those who hear us so that they too will be established in the faith.
Let me conclude with a few verses on the preacher and the preaching.
We read in Romans 10:12-14, This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. As the scripture says, "Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved." But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed? (GNB)
God does not show partiality, and that is why He sent Jesus on behalf of every single person on this earth. Whoever believes in Jesus will certainly have the assurance that their sins will be forgiven. Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved, and will be spared from the torments of an eternity in hell. However, it would be impossible for people to call on the one whom they have not believed in, and the fact is that they no one can believe unless they hear the message being preached to them.
Everything begins with the preaching of the word, and hence the one who preaches should be careful to preach the message based on the word of God. Those who hear will believe, the ones who believe will worship, and will be saved for eternity. Irrespective of whether we hear the word or preach the word, let us do so with God’s word as the foundation so that many who hear will be saved and blessed.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
