Sermon # 29 - The Power Of Preaching The Word Series

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)