Romans 1:15, "So
as much as in me is, I am ready to
preach the gospel to you that
are at Rome also."
This morning, there are many
that preach what they
think, what they dreamed, what
they feel, or whatever
is political or diplomatic to
say at the time. Now,
the true gospel should be what
we are thinking about, feeling in our heart, and be done with acceptable
words, but that does not give
excuse to preach from
the book "I think so" or "My
Opinion." The pastor does have the freedom to give opinions to the flock from
time to time, but his whole
sermon should not be lined with
opinions or
conjecture. It should be
grounded on the solid Rock
that does not shift or change.
Some have posed the question,
"Is it acceptable for
a preacher to use notes?" This
verse gives about as
good an answer to that question
as I know. While some
have used perhaps one or two
notes to correctly gauge
a figure or number (I knew a
preacher that had one
note for tough
calculations...regarding hours of study
in the Bible, and how long it
would take to finish).
This is something that I believe
is tolerable, since
some do not have mathematical
minds to recall figures
or numbers. However, this
toleration does not extend
to brethren that advocate
preaching completely from
notes or outlines. Paul says
that he was going to
preach what was
in him.
What is in us?
David says in
Psalm 119:11 that he hid the
word of the Lord in his
heart. Apparently, the word of
God should be in us.
Do we carry Bibles? Certainly!
As with most
controversial discussions, there
are extremes on both
sides. There are some
congregations that will not let preachers
carry Bibles into the pulpit
(even though Ezra,
Christ, and others read from the
book of the law to
the assembly). Along with this
discussion arises the
question from some, "Do
ministers need to study or
should they be relying on God?"
Again, a question
with both options (by
themselves) being extremes.
Some advocate non-study. Others
indicate complete study,
along with notes, outlines, etc. In reality,
the answer lies
between the two extremes.
The Lord's
ministers are required to pray
for help, lean on Him,
and hope that He will manifest
His presence and Spirit
in the preaching. However, he is
not without excuse
to study to show himself
approved unto God.
Therefore, Paul was ready to
study AND look to the
Lord for help and guidance. He
was also ready to
preach what was in him. Our
ministers should be ready
and willing to preach today,
tomorrow, or whenever
called upon. We have the word of
God, we trust that
we have hid it in our heart, and
we need to be ready
to preach that to
God's hungry people.
The Lord's
people are not interested in
what you dreamed, why you
believe you are called to
preach, how inadequate you
feel, how unworthy you are, or
how dry you might be.
If any of those things are
applicable to you, they
will soon know it. My father
once said, "You don't
have to tell the Lord's people
how badly you feel. If
that is indeed true, they'll
soon find out when your
preaching is dry and coarse."
May we ever be ready to
preach the gospel
that is within us.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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