What Preaching Ought To Be

Intro:

- Rom 10:14 and how shall they hear without a preacher?

- One day a father sat down with his 8 year old girl and explained with great pride that her grand-father was a preacher, and that her great-great- grandfather was a preacher, and that her great-great-great grandfather was a preacher. To which she replied “Wow! We sure come from a long line of grandfathers!”

I. It is to be “Preached”! (vs.1-2a)

- Parishioners hard pressed for something to say to the clergy after the service have, according to one minister's friend said to him,

- "You always manage to find something to fill up the time?

- "I don't care what they say, I like your sermons?

- "If I'd known you were going to be good today I'd have brought a neighbor?

- "Did you know there are 243 panes of glass in the windows"?

- "We shouldn't make you preach so often?

- Noah preached - 2Pe 2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness,

- Solomon preached - Ecc 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

- Jonah preached - Jonah 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

- Jesus preached - Luk 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

- His disciples peached - Mar 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

- Paul a preacher and an Apostle - 1Ti 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle,

II. Always be prepared (“be ready”) (vs.2a)

- I Cor 2:1-5

A. Preaching needs to point people to Jesus (vs. 1-2)

B. The preacher needs to set himself out of the way (spurgeon quote) (vs. 3)

C. Preaching needs to be done in the Spirit of God (vs. 4)

D. Preaching needs to lead people to faith in God, not in the preacher or the church. Not in methods or programs. (vs. 5)

III. In Season and out of Season

- The true purpose of a preacher is to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed

- Luk 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

- And thus began Jesus preaching ministry

IV. Reprove, Rebuke, & Exhort

- Reprove - Ελεγξον· Confute, the false teacher.

- Galatians 1:6-9

- Rebuke - Επιτιμησον· Reprove cuttingly and severely those who will not abandon their sins.

- 1 Cor 5:1-5

- Exhort - Παρακαλεσον· Comfort the feeble-minded, the diffident and the tempted.

- I Thess 4:13-18

V. With Perseverance (longsuffering KJV)

- When you are opposed

- Act_4:18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

- No man is fit to preach the gospel, seeing the whole world is set against it, save he who is armed to suffer.

- The greatest criticism of the church today is that no one wants to persecute it: because there is nothing, very much, to persecute it about.

- Story about the churches in Israel being protested

VI. And Doctrine

- 2Ti_3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,

- If you are not preaching doctrine you are not preaching from the Bible. Period

Conclusion:

It has been said that “The test of a preacher is not “What a lovely Sermon” but “I will do something”.”

- Oh God let me preach with enthusiasm because of what Christ did, not because of what the crowds think…..because of the salvation we have, not the size of the group we have. Use me oh God not because it is the hour of the message, but because you have given me a message for the hour.