Cease Not To Teach and Preach The Lord Jesus Christ! 2Cor 4:5a For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Dr. Charles L.Goodell wrote, Let the sermon and service be brief, but make every minute count. The sermon should remain on track because the content of the message is most important. Back in 1886, the Baptist Quarterly Review wrote: A very intelligent listener to sermons once said, The length of a sermon has nothing to do with the time occupied in its delivery; some of the longest sermons I ever heard were preached in twenty minutes, and some that lasted over an hour were among the shortest. The remark gives a correct clue to intelligent sentiment on the subject. It is not brevity that the pew asks of the pulpit, so much as the point. Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. A few months ago, we were visiting another city in which we attended a Sunday morning church service. We had visited that church before wherein the senior pastor had preached an excellent sermon-- the Word was preached and the sermon was very structured. (He taught straight out of the Scriptures and never wavered off the topic. The Lord was moving upon the hearts of the congregation. Gods Word was taught for roughly 45 minutes and yet it seemed like not even ten minutes had gone by. Every minute was accounted for and Christ was glorified and the people were fed.The Apostle Paul preached until midnight (Acts 20:7) and we have encountered preachers that we have been blessed listening to for hours-- for whatever the sermon topic, they remain focused on preaching the Word of God, glorifying the Lord Christ.) Yet the senior pastor did not preach that morning but the associate pastor had the blessed privilege of preaching to about 500 people (a third of the normal attendance.) He opened the sermon by saying, I struggled all week long for a topic and could not find one. He then went on to say that he finally decided to preach on John 3:16-- as if it was a last resort because there was nothing better. Now most Bible believing preachers would have no greater honor than to preach John 3:16. It is guaranteed to be a good sermon that would, with the Lords help alone, stir the hearts of the hearers-- both saved and unsaved. Believers in Christ would glorify the Lord and praise Him for what He has done in saving them; and those not yet saved would hear the glorious Gospel and have the opportunity to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Gospel is the greatest story ever told. But yet this John 3:16 would be a disastrous first for many listeners that morning. The associate pastor read John 3:16, stopped after reading it, and then proceeded to talk about himself and his family history with bits of Gods grace thrown around in passing, about his brothers suicide with questions of why it happened, about his trip to Los Angeles, and just when one would think after one hour of talking about himself that he would somehow get back on track and start to glorify Christ, yet another story was told having nothing to do with John 3:16. There was no structure to the sermon-- it was all over the place-- unfocused and the Lord Jesus Christ was not preached. People in the congregation were sighing, some yawning, others appeared to be exhausted. His words were his own-- with no life in them. The Word was not preached, the sermon was not a John 3:16 but a getting to know about me sermon; a long-winded preacher. It was misuse of the pulpit, torment to the hearers and a travesty to the preaching of the Cross of Christ. Yet the Apostle Paul declared in 1Corinthians 9:16, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! Now, I have heard many Baptists and even some Pentecostals preach John 3:16 and never had I heard such a terrible John 3:16 sermon until that day. The preacher slaughtered the sermon. He neglected to preach Christ and then about five minutes before the close, he asked if there was any one there who would like to receive Christ. There was no way a person could come to Jesus-- for the Gospel was not preached. It became quite clear to us after a few minutes into the sermon why the church had so many empty seats that morning…apparently the rest of the Saints did not want to be worn out with storytelling; and yet how many pastors preach about themselves on a Sunday morning? It is one thing to relate a brief testimony to support a sermon but it should be brief so as not to take away from the message. God is to be glorified, not just mentioned in passing. The Lord Jesus, and no one else, is to be exalted. We live in the ME - llenium generation” and that sermon was an about me sermon. How tragic that folks still went to church that morning to hear Gods Word and received nothing more than stories about the associate pastors life experiences with bits of Gods grace thrown around. Yet John the Baptist declared in John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. The Lord Jesus said in John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. False conversions are produced from pulpits that neglect to preach the Cross of Christ. A John 3:16 sermon requires the preacher to convey WHO JESUS IS-- The Word who became flesh--, the Second Person of the Godhead; and the sermon also requires WHY man needs salvation-- because he is a sinner who has broken Gods law-- alienated from God and is on his way to hell; Romans 3:23 declares: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A John 3:16 sermon also requires an explanation of why God, the Father, sent His only Begotten Son into the world-- to die for our sins and that every person must receive the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior in order to be saved. The Lord Jesus said in John 3:18, He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. The Lord of Glory, who knew no sin, took our place and our sins were placed upon Him at Calvary. Through the shedding of His precious blood, there is remission for sin. Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him shall receive remission of sins. The Lord Jesus arose from the dead-- thus proving He is the Son of God and through Him, all may receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. The love of God is the greatest story ever told-- the Second Person of the Godhead became our Savior! He redeemed us! What GREAT love God has for us! We have eternal life through Christ Jesus. Col 1:12-14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. If the Lord Jesus is not the center of the sermon, a preacher has no business preaching-- let alone inviting folks to receive Christ-- for most assuredly it will not be Jesus Christ whom they are receiving but a false Christ. Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. A sermon should be kept to the point-- letting every minute count-- teaching the Lord Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 22:11:08 +0000