Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” Matthew 3:2 I thought I would talk about three kinds of preaching that are popular today. Actually I will mention two that are trendy and one that is not but ought to be. Positive Attitude Preaching. When I was a young minister wanting to make my mark this genera attracted me for some reason. I would see a beautiful church on television. I would see the celebrities identify with the message. I read the books that were so popular at the time. I would think this is what people really want to hear. The glitz of TV makes everything seem larger than life. I even went to California on a couple of occasions to learn how to do it the right way. The message is repent of your negative thinking and your life will be so much better. If it seems shallow it is because it is shallow. Unfortunately the church is now bankrupt and so is the message tends to be. Positive Confession Preaching. Another young minister lights up the airwaves on Sunday morning these days. His message is similar to the previous one except his is one of declaration not just attitude. Word and Faith are accentuated. (ala Hagin, Copeland and Tilton) The Prosperity of the believer is emphasized. Who could be against that, right? His message is that you do not have because you do not positively confess the things that God wants you to have. Through faith we can obtain anything we want — health, wealth, success, or whatever we please. However, this force is released only through the spoken word. As we speak words of faith, power is discharged to accomplish our desires. This message is evidently popular. It boasts being the largest church in America. This is evidently the message people want to hear. There is a New Age book and video by Rhonda Byrne called The Secret, which gained popularity some years ago. It was due to that great preacher of truth, Oprah Winfrey’s strong promotion. Byrne teaches that we can “create [our] own happiness through the law of attraction.” Whether it is cash, health, prosperity or happiness, all can be ours if we will just learn to use “the secret.” Byrne tells us, “Disease cannot live in a body that is in a healthy emotional state.” But be warned: “If you have a disease and you are focusing on it and talking to people about it, you are going to create more disease cells.” This kind of rhetoric should sound familiar to anyone even faintly aware of the Word of Faith Movement, and the “the prosperity gospel.” This group has been infiltrating evangelicalism for decades and is now the fastest growing segment of Christianity in the world. Some have estimated that up to 90 percent of those claiming to be Christians in Africa are of the prosperity gospel variety. Positive Repentance Preaching. The message of John the Baptist was “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). How in your face is that? The Kingdom was coming then in the Person of the Savoir; it was a spiritual Kingdom, the reign of God in the hearts of men. The Kingdom is coming soon; it will be a visible Kingdom when the King returns and once again our message should be “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Christ’s message to the church for this hour is “Repent.” This is not Bob’s, Joel’s or even Oprah’s but instead it is God’s message. It is NOT popular but true. Who dares to call the average Sunday-morning congregation to repentance? Joseph Parker said: “The man whose message is ‘Repent’ sets himself against his age and will be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man…off with his head! You had better not preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven.” Whose message are you following? You may have comments or disagreements with these words. I appreciate your observations. If you wish to follow me or share these thoughts with others I invite you to do so.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 22:17:50 +0000
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