I Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
There are many men across our nation that claim to be preaching. And they claim to be preaching the Bible. There are TV preachers, women who claim to be preachers (tell me how a woman can be the husband of one wife; read I Timothy 3:2) and many who are putting out books that claim they are teaching the Bible. The truth is there aren't many men who truly are preaching the Bible. Not many truly believe what they preach nor do they live what they preach.
If ever there was a need for God-called men to preach the whole counsel of God's Word it is today. John the Baptist preached repentance. Paul preached Christ and Him crucified. Jesus preached and also prophesied. Paul even told Timothy to preach the Word.
The problem in our world today is that men are not surrendering to that call of God in their life and the ones that do are straying from preaching truth. They are preaching from a perverted text or they are not preaching true Biblical sanctification. They are preaching blasphemy and are not preaching on sin or naming sin for what it is.
Preachers need to be preaching "thus saith the Lord" and not picking and choosing what they preach. We need men of God who are filled with the Spirit of God and that aren't afraid to preach what God tells them to preach. I'm sure its not always easy to preach certain things from God's Word. I know for a fact that there are things that should be preached that aren't popular things.
Preachers are afraid to preach some things for fear of people leaving their church if they do. Afterall....the more members or the bigger the church the more money (for the most part)that goes in the pocket of the pastor. The Bible says in II Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." God-called preachers should be preaching the whole counsel of God...whether its popular or not.
I for one love preaching that is straight and hard. That kind of preaching helps me...and I don't know about you but I want to be helped by the preaching of God's Word. The kind of preaching that is popular today is the "feel-good ear-tickling" preaching that doesn't convict anyone of anything wrong they are doing in their life. God warned us of this kind of preaching would be prominent in days to come. II Timothy 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;". Are we not seeing this going on today?
If you have a pastor that preaches it straight...thank God for him and let him know you appreciate him and the stand he takes. Trust me...he'll appreciate the encouragement. There may be no one else that is telling him.
16 comments:
We need men of God who are filled with the Spirit of God and that aren't afraid to preach what God tells them to preach. Amen.
I totally agree, there's too much nicey-nicey, softly-softly, "I'm alright, you're alright" preaching I see on the TV or when I go to weddings, etc at other churches. Our Senior Pastor who does the majority of preaching preaches whatever he believes God wants him to preach, it's always Biblically sound and he doesn't pull any (verbal) punches. Honestly, people have left our church in the past because he has preached against something. I remember our Pastor preaching against hypnotism, we had a doctor who used to go to our church who ran hynotism classes, he just stormed out and never came back. We've lost people when our Pastor has preached about divorcee's repenting.
Many times I've really been challenged by something and found it hard. But anything that is worthwhile is hard; and God is the most worthwhile pursuit in Heaven and earth.
Our Pastor runs a little course for Ministers of other churches who feel they are struggling. One minister came and after hearing our Pastor talk about how preachers need to listen to the Holy Spirit when they preach this minister went for a long walk with his dog. Whilst he was out he prayed to God about it. God must have really blessed him because he apparently came back a changed man, 'on fire' in his heart for God.
God will bless a preacher who really wants to preach by His Spirit and this man had tried to preach from his own knowledge. Let's hope he'll be listening to God from now on!
Blessings Sis Julie, sorry for the long comment but your post really spoke to me today.
(I had to delete my first comment as I'd missed a word out and it didn't make sense!)
sis. sarah...thank you for your comment. I'm thankful that this post was a blessing to you. As I was writing it down I was reminded of certain "preachers" that are on tv that are preaching heresy and blasphemy and the nicey-nicey messages that people "want" to hear. It is sad how many people are caught up in all that. I thank God that my husband preaches "thus saith the Lord" with no apologies and God is using Him in our church. Would that all Christians could say that and be thankful for it.
Amen, Sis. Julie! There's a lot of ear-tickling going on in churches across America. Guess that works for those with "itching ears."
women who claim to be preachers (tell me how a woman can be the husband of one wife;
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Amen and Amen again!
My Pastor is a good preacher of the Gospel, he is as you said
"We need men of God who are filled with the Spirit of God and that aren't afraid to preach what God tells them to preach."
Very good post.
mrs. c....you are so right!! And those assemblies are growing by leaps and bounds.
sis. theresa...praise God you have a pastor who is not afraid to preach the whole counsel of God!! There are many though that don't have that...and if they are truly saved...their growth will be stunted as a Christian. That is just sad!!
I definitely thank the LORD for my Pastor and how he preaches the truth regardless of whether or not it makes him popular. Which usually, it makes him very UNpopular.
~Kristi
sis. kristi....Amen for another Man of God that preaches truth and doesn't care if he is popular or not. You are blessed to have such a pastor!!
Sis. Julie, I am here to say that my Pastor preaches the whole counsel of God and he does preach,
"Thus saith the Lord." I have learned so much from him because he is not "Afraid of their faces" as the Bible says. I am thankful God gave me such a Pastor and I am thankful that he is a preacher that not only preaches the Word but that his life is an example of the Word. Thank you for this post. I think those of us that have such Pastors should be more thankful for them. connie from Texas
Mrs Julie I am thankful that we have a Pastor that preaches it straight no matter what people think and by the grace of God I will continue to also preach straight whether people like it or not. Good Post!
Bro Tim
sis. connie...Praise the Lord!! It is such a blessing to know we have a pastor that loves us enough and loves the Lord so much that he is more concerned with obeying the Lord and helping the flock than tickling our ears and whether we'll leave the church over preaching God's Word as he is commanded to do.
bro. tim....I have no doubt that when God gives you a church to pastor that you will preach as God has you to. You've proven that in our church when you've preached and that is a blessing!!
Praise the Lord for sound, godly preachers - who preach exactly what God's Word says and what the Holy Spirit places upon their heart!
In the almost 3 1/2 years of preaching at the Gospel Mission, I remember one time when I was tempted to hedge something that the Holy Spirit wanted me to cover (I can't even remember what the issue was) - I ran out of time (I am preaching for about 10 minutes before a meal) and there was a disturbance so I never got to that part - but I remember the guilt that in my mind I was thinking about NOT covering what God wanted me to, and made a choice never to do that again.
Better to preach the Word of God and have man's frown and God's approval, than to be afraid of their faces, and lose the Holy Spirit's blessing on your preaching!! When I preach what the Holy Spirit has given me to preach, there is a boldness, an assurance that I know will never be there when we hedge our messages or witnessing.
bro. jerry....AMEN!!!
If you have a pastor that preaches it straight...thank God for him and let him know you appreciate him and the stand he takes.
A big Amen!
We are searching for a church with a pastor just like that. Please prayer for us, We want a church that preachers straight from the bible, not from Purpose Driven books etc. We want truth, not watered down words. It's getting tougher and tougher, we are not looking for a perfect church, don't get me wrong. We want and need to be fed.
Cristina
sis. cristina...I will certainly pray for you. It is very difficult to find a church that has a pastor who preaches the whole counsel of God. So many really don't like to do that. But there are so many people such as yourself that desire to be fed and want to hear the whole counsel of God. I pray the Lord leads you to where He wants you to be. Just remain tuned in to God so you'll hear Him when He says "This is it...this is where I want you."
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