Preaching Truth

You never measure a man’s ministry by earthly measurements. 

Carey, in India for thirty-five years; and only then did he see a convert. Would anyone question the virtue of his life? Let God be the judge. Let’s bow together in prayer.

 Anybody can preach a whittled-down gospel. 

Anybody can preach some kind of a deal where you take a little dab of biblical truth and slap it together with human wisdom, and contaminate it with your own cleverness and your own views. 

But if you do that, you are a hawker and a huckster.

 Any man is adequate for that.

 But the man who preaches unmixed, divine truth, pure and clean, can only do that in power that is given from on high.”

So Paul found his way out of the gloom – didn’t he? –
 out of the gloom of a broken heart, and he found his way back 

to thanksgiving,

began to focus on God, 

and realized that he had to go back to the privileges 
and not to the problems

What a privilege

the privilege of being associated with the King of kings, and have Him as a leader; 

the privilege of a promised triumph, all through his life He’s victorious;

 the privilege of influencing men and women for eternity; 

the privilege of being pleasing to God; the privilege, the great privilege of having power in proclaiming the truth.

We don't need shorter messages we need better messages.

 

Text driven, Bible centered, expositional preaching. The pulpit is God' throne for presenting the Word of God.
The authority of the preached, is the authority of the Word of God."Thus saith the Lord" said with authority
A God exalting exposition
Lecture 4 Fundamentals of expository Preaching - Steven Lawson

Great preaching mades people get enthuse or enthusiastic having showing intense and eager enjoyment, interest or approval of the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.
Read the text, give understand of the text, exhort the text, give supporting text, then synthesis, ( put it altogether, the synthesis of intellect and emotion of the your work and the text. and then therefore.

An explanation before the application

Jonathan Edwards on Attributes of Good Preaching

The supremacy of God in preaching by john piper

1. Preaching Stirs up Holy Affection:

Good preaching aims at stirring up holy affections.- things like hate for sin, delight in God, hope in his promises, gratitude for his mercy, desire for his holiness, tender compassion,. The reason for this is that the absence of holy affections in Christians is odious.

2. Preaching enlightens the mind:

Sound preaching enlightens the mind and burns the hearts. According to Edward a preacher must shine and burn. These must be heat in the heart and light in the mind. Affections that do not arise from an enlightened mind are not holy affections but instead are simply emotional responses. Outward acts of benevolence and piety that do not flow from the new and God-given affections of the heart, which delight to depend on God and seek his glory, are only legalism and have no value in honoring God

3. Preaching is saturated with scripture:

I say that good preaching is "saturated with Scripture" and not "based on Scripture" because Scripture is more (not less) than the basis for good preaching. Good preaching does not sit on Scripture like a basis and say other things. It oozes Scripture. Again and again my advice to beginning preachers is. "Quote the text! Say the actual words of the text again and again. Show the people where your ideas are coming from.... Edwards expended great energy to write out whole passages in manuscripts that gave support for what he ways saying.

...affections that do not rise from the mind's apprehension of truth are not holy affections,. For example , he (Edwards) says, "That faith, which is without spiritual light, is not the faith of the children of the light and of the day, put the presumption of the children of darkness. And therefore press and urge them to believe, without any spiritual light, or sight, tends greatly to help forward the delusions of the prince of darkness. The good preacher will make it his aim to give his hearers good reason and just ground for the affections he is trying to stir up.

Edwards held the firm conviction that good preaching is saturated with Scripture. Ever sermon must steady, constantly and frequently quote the Word of God. This truth will ensure that we stay on track as faithful ministers of the Word.

4. Preaching employs analogies and images:

Abstract truth must be fleshed out. Edwards argued that vivid images touch the heart more than anything else. Piper informs us that Edwards strained at making heaven look irresistible beautiful and the torments of hell look intolerable horrible.

Experience and Scripture teach that the heart is most powerfully touched not when the mind is entertaining abstract idea, but when it is filled with vivid images of amazing reality. Edwards was, to be sure, a metaphysician and a philosopher of the highest order.. he knew that abstractions kindled few affections. And new affections are the goal of preaching... And he sought to compare abstract theological truth to common events and experiences.

　

5. Preaching uses threats and warning:

In our day of politically correct language and blind tolerance. Edwards argues for threat and warning since it restrains one from sin and excites one to spiritual exercise.

Edwards was fully persuaded that hell was real. "This doctrine is indeed awful and dreadful, yet 'tis of God,' he esteemed the threats of Jesus as the strident tones of love."Whoever says, "you fool!" will be liable to the hell of fire" Matthew 5:22
"It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" Matthew 5:30
"Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" Matthew 10:28
Edwards could not remain silent where Jesus was so vocal. Hell awaits every unconverted person. Love must warn them with the threats of the Lord."

6. Preaching Pleads for a response:

Sound preaching seeks to response. Edwards, like Spurgeon after him, pointed out, "sinners, ...should be earnestly invited to come and accept of a Savior, and yield their hearts unto him, with all the vining, encouraging arguments for them...,that the Gospel affords.

Edwards said, "Sinners...should be earnestly invited to come and accept of a Savior, and yield their hearts to him, with all the winning, encouraging arguments for them...that the Gospel affords." ..."Almost every sermon has a long section called "Application' where Edwards screws in the implications of his doctrine and presses for a response. He did not give what is known today as an "altar call" and expostulate and plead for his people for his people to respond to God."-

　

7. Preaching probes the workings of the heart:

points out that powerful preaching is like surgery. "under the a anointing of the Holy Spirit, it locates, lances, and removes the infection of sin." He shows that Edwards probed his own heart and therefore knew the heart of others. Sorting out the wheat from the chaff in his own church gave Edwards great insightness into the heart of man.

Powerful preaching is like surgery. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it locates, lances, and remove the infection of sin. Sereno Dwight, one of Edward's early biographers, said of him, "His knowledge of the human heart, and its operations, has scarily been equaled by that of any uninspired preacher."

8. Preaching yields to the Holy Spirit:

Since preaching is totally dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit, prayer is an essential for good preaching.

The goal of preach is utterly dependent on the mercy of God for its fulfillment.. Therefore, the preacher must labor to put his preaching under divine influence by prayer. By this means the Holy Spirit assists the preacher. But Edwards didn't believe the assistance came in the form of words being immediately suggested to the mind. If that's all the Spirit did, a preacher could be a devil and do his work. No, the Holy Spirit fills the heart with holy affections and the heart fills the mouth."

9. Preaching is from a tender and broken heart:

Good preaching flows from a spirit of brokenness and tenderness. Edwards pointed out that the ey of blessings is upon the meek and trembling Isaiah 66:2

"Good preaching comes from a spirit of brokenness and tenderness. For all his authority and power Jesus was attractive because he was 'gentle and lowly in heart,' which made him a place of rest (Matthew 11:290 "when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd' (Matthew 9:36) There is in the Spirit-filled preacher a tender affection that sweetens every promise and softens with tears every warning and rebuke."

10. Preaching is intense:

The reality of heaven and hell ignites renewal and infuses the pulpit with power. The preached is conscious of his responsibility as he declares eternal truths.

"Good preaching gives the impression that something very great is at stake. With Edwards view of the reality of heaven and hell and the necessity of persevering in a life of holy affections and godliness, eternity was at stake every Sunday. Edwards could no more imagine speaking in a cold or casual or indifferent of flippant manner about the great things of God than he could imagine a father discussing coolly the collapse of a flaming house on his children."

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Charles e Whisnant, Expositional Preaching

 

Reading the Word, Explaining the Word, Give meaning of the Text in the Context. , Allow the text to give it's meaning. The preacher staying out of the text. Call people to obey the message of the Scripture, Doctrinal Correct

 

 

Charles e Whisnant, Expositional Preaching

 

Reading the Word, Explaining the Word, Give meaning of the Text in the Context. , Allow the text to give it's meaning. The preacher staying out of the text. Call people to obey the message of the Scripture, Doctrinal Correct

 

 

Preaching Sermons Preparation

A great time preaching this morning..., pray for my pastor for healing..., I got a message at 10am that I would be preaching today..., and it encourages this preacher to get to preach without much notice..., Nervous yes..., worried NO..., when God calls a man to preach..., he equips him to preach..., and here's a first..., I received a request by someone who wasn't there when I preached last time..., and wanted to hear that same message..., but about 5 minutes before preaching time..., the Spirit of God directed me to another message..., so what did I do? I preached 2 messages this morning.... and as only He can do..., the Holy Spirit knit both messages together..., and "...all things worked together for good this morning"..., thank you LORD!  Terry Rollins Sr.

Dr. J.F. Norris was preaching for Dad and Dad is the one with the wide tie and coat open 

and Mom is behind the mike.

When my Dad was living and preaching for 44 years, he would say "Charles what would like to hear me preach tonight?" Having hear him preach 1000 sermons I did have a few that I really loved. "Dad preach on 'The Four Greatest Words in the Bible'." or "The Black Out at Calvary." After 44 years Dad did could preach a sermon anytime and anywhere.

 Dr. R.J. Barber Sr. and Dad Everette Whisnant, in 1954

Building of Williamsroad Baptist Church in Roanoke Virginia

Back in the day, I was taught to say before I preached: "The pastor ask me to preach this morning at 9 a.m., so be ready. I am sure the Holy Spirit will give you a message." I was 17 years old. The sermon lasted 10 minutes.

Of course today, I have almost all the sermons I have preached, somewhere, I could rather easy pull one out and preach.

 Dad's friend Fate Spencer ask Dad, if I would like to preach at his church one Sunday in Hildebrand NC. I was 16.5 years old. My first experience outside Sunday School class. So I took one of Charles Spurgeon's sermon, (true story) and read his introduction. I should have ran that idea over with my Dad first. Glad Charity was not there.

Once I was preaching a message, and half way through it, I thought this sermon is so badly said, that I changed the sermon to another one. Charity said "What in the world, did the Holy Spirit tell you to do that????"

In my case, I have almost all the sermons I have preached, I can usually pull out one that I sense the Lord would have me to preach, on a moment notice. I don't think I have ever gone to the pulpit with no idea what I would say. But I have said a few things I didn't think I would say after I started preaching. Charity said, "Charles where did that come from?" I was afraid to say it came from the Holy Spirit!!!!

This last year at Rivers of Joy Baptist Church, Minford Ohio I came to the pulpit and took out my typed manuscript and begin to read. First Peter 2. As I was reading , it appeared to me something is just not right. But I did not want to stop. Well what I discovered after 8 pages, I had started on page 8 and went to page 1. Preached the sermon backward. Never did that before!!! Charity was teaching the kids, thank goodness.

Preachers will get up and say, "The Lord gave me this sermon this morning."  Funny thing, I took the same notes from a fellowship meeting the same time.  

I have always said, I don't think I have preached many original sermons.  There have been some that I wonder where they came from.

I started out with my Dad's notes. (1963-1966)  Then went to Seminary had used Dr. Martins sermons, and Dr. Barber notes. (1966-70)  Then went to Hyle's Anderson's College, and took notes from Dr. Hyles sermons.  I could only use his points, most of what he said, I could not have said.

Then I adopted John MacArthur's method of teaching the Scripture in 1982.  I have always said, I have used John's message.  Then after some training, and learning and after getting some reference help, I used a lot of resources for the sermons.

When preaching from Ephesians, Philippians one chapter at a time, one verse at a time, and sometimes on word at a time, I used a lot of reference.  I have never made an interpretation without first check it out with another.  Calvin, Luther, MacArthur, Lloyd Jones, Greene, Sproul, Stott, Henry, Barkley,  Barnes, Barclay, Clarke, Criswell, Ironside,  Jowett, Jamieson, McGee, Meyer, Ortlund, Pritchard, A.T. Robertson,  Stedman, Sprugeon, Scroll, Vincent.to name a few.





As for a correct theological understanding, I go to theological reference books.

Once back in 1985 I remember typing on a typewritter, a sermon that was about 16 pages, I really from my head, wrote out what I was thinking.  Well, the electric  went out and so went the sermon. I could not rewrite it again.

What Is False Speech in Preaching

What constitutes crooked speech? It is talk that isn’t straight, of course. It is bowed, off-kilter, circuitous, meandering. There are a few examples we could cite.

1. Falsehoods

• Telling lies about ourselves or others is breaking covenant. Even if we’re just “stretching” the truth or “bending” the truth, entertaining distortions or investing in stereotypes, we cut a line unfit to build relationships or reputations of integrity with. You can’t be square with God and neighbor if all your lumber’s warped.

2. Gossip

• Talking about someone rather than to them is slantways. We all know the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but gossips take the easy “shortcut” of the long way around. They might never get to you but they’ll certainly get after you. That’s crooked.

3. Hypocrisy

• This is some of the crookedest speech. Somebody who misrepresents themselves, posturing success from a place of personal bankruptcy or feigning sincerity and sensitivity one moment while savaging others the next. Hypocrites preach “peace, peace” not only when there is no peace, but while they’re waging wars. They will preach love and respect while they secretly and sometimes openly behave oppositely. The Bible calls these folks “double minded.” They’re fork-tongued too.

Preaching Boot Camp

 

Reading this book by Albert Mohler is a must for every preacher

April 1 2015 First Peter 2:24 Verses

Today  after getting up and getting dress I went to the bakery, picked up Charity’s  pay check and went to the bank.  Then I went to the church.  I was look over come of my sermons from 1994.  Made copies of Wednesday night outline from First Peter 2:24. 

We had a wonderful service at Rivers of Joy Baptist Church, Minford, Ohio.

THE CROSS AND THE CRUCIFICATION AND THE CAUSE
Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Teacher

FIRST PETER 2:24

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your soul
      
 
John 10:10-29
Exodus  28:38; t shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
Psalms  38:4; For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Isaiah 53:4-22   Of course you need to turn to that whole chapter
Matthew 8:17;    This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”  Isaiah 53:4
John 1:29, 36;  The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Hebrew 9:28  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Isaiah 53:8
John 10:15-18 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 1:10-29; 3:16;
1Timothy 2:5, 6; 4:10;  For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 7For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Hebrews 2:9 and 17.  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Hebrew 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself  Leviticus 9:7 http://biblehub.com/hebrews/7-27.htm
Deut. 21:21-23 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.“If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.
Read Isaiah 53
Read John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Romans 6:1-10
Isaiah 56 all
Leviticus 16:21-22 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. 22“The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
Revelation 22
1Cor 1:18; For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Galatians 6:14; But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Philippians 3:18; For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Colossians 1:20).  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Mattthew 10:38; 16:24  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Mark 15:44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.
1Peter 4:1,2;        1Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
Romans 6:2,7,11; 7:6;  Read
Colossiansl 2:20; 3:3;  f with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
2  Corinthians 6:17;Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
Hebrews 7:26) For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
Galatians 2:19-20 For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Romans 7
Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
John 8:36 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Galatians 5:18
Romans 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
(Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 1:74,75;  grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,      Might serve Him without fear,75In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
Php 1:11; filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
1 John 2:29; 3:7) If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Isaiah 53:5,6;
Matthew 27:26;   Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
Mark 15:15; So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
John 19:1,  Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.
Psalms 147:3; He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Job 5:18 Psalms 6:2, 34:18
Mal 4:2; But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Luke 4:18;  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

10 Reminders for Preachers

Here are ten reminders for those who preach and teach the Word of God, as articulated by some of history’s greatest preachers.

1. Effective ministry consists not of fads or gimicks, but of faithfully preaching the truth.

Charles Spurgeon: Ah, my dear friends, we want nothing in these times for revival in the world but the simple preaching of the gospel. This is the great battering ram that shall dash down the bulwarks of iniquity. This is the great light that shall scatter the darkness. We need not that men should be adopting new schemes and new plans. We are glad of the agencies and assistances which are continually arising; but after all, the true Jerusalem blade, the sword that can cut to the piercing asunder of the joints and marrow, is preaching the Word of God. We must never neglect it, never despise it. The age in which the pulpit it despised, will be an age in which gospel truth will cease to be honored. . . . God forbid that we should begin to depreciate preaching. Let us still honor it; let us look to it as God’s ordained instrumentality, and we shall yet see in the world a repetition of great wonders wrought by the preaching in the name of Jesus Christ.

Source: Charles Spurgeon, “Preaching! Man’s Privilege and God’s Power,” Sermon (Nov. 25, 1860).

2. Preaching is a far more serious task than most preachers realize.

Richard Baxter: And for myself, as I am ashamed of my dull and careless heart, and of my slow and unprofitable course of life, so, the Lord knows, I am ashamed of every sermon I preach; when I think what I have been speaking of, and who sent me, and that men’s salvation or damnation is so much concerned in it, I am ready to tremble lest God should judge me as a slighter of His truths and the souls of men, and lest in the best sermon I should be guilty of their blood. Me thinks we should not speak a word to men in matters of such consequence without tears, or the greatest earnestness that possibly we can; were not we too much guilty of the sin which we reprove, it would be so.

Source: Richard Baxter, “The Need for Personal Revival.” Cited from Historical Collections Relating to Remarkable Periods of the Success of the Gospel, ed. John Gillies (Kelso: John Rutherfurd, 1845), 147.

3. Faithfulness in the pulpit begins with the pursuit of personal holiness.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne: Take heed to thyself. Your own soul is your first and greatest care. You know a sound body alone can work with power; much more a healthy soul. Keep a clear conscience through the blood of the Lamb. Keep up close communion with God. Study likeness to Him in all things. Read the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people. Expound much; it is through the truth that souls are to be sanctified, not through essays upon the truth.

Source: Robert Murray M’Cheyne, letter dated March 22, 1839, to Rev W.C. Burns, who had been named to take M’Cheyne’s pulpit during the latter’s trip to Palestine. Andrew Bonar, ed, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne (Banner of Truth, 1966), 273-74.

4. Powerful preaching flows from powerful prayer.

E.M. Bounds: The real sermon is made in the closet. The man – God’s man – is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor. . . . Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God’s work and is powerless to project God’s cause in this world.

Source: E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer. From chapter 1, “Men of Prayer Needed.”

5. Passionate preaching starts with one’s passion for Christ

Phillip Brooks: Nothing but fire kindles fire. To know in one’s whole nature what it is to live by Christ; to be His, not our own; to be so occupied with gratitude for what He did for us and for what He continually is to us that His will and His glory shall be the sole desires of our life . . . that is the first necessity of the preacher.

Source: Phillips Brooks, Lectures on Preaching, originally published in 1877. Republished in 1989 by Kregel under the title The Joy of Preaching. As cited in “The Priority of Prayer in Preaching” by James Rosscup, The Masters Seminary Journal, Spring 1991.

6. The preacher is a herald, not an innovator.

R.L. Dabney: The preacher is a herald; his work is heralding the King’s message. . . . Now the herald does not invent his message; he merely transmits and explains it. It is not his to criticize its wisdom or fitness; this belongs to his sovereign alone. On the one hand, . . . he is an intelligent medium of communication with the king’s enemies; he has brains as well as a tongue; and he is expected so to deliver and explain his master’s mind, that the other party shall receive not only the mechanical sounds, but the true meaning of the message. On the other hand, it wholly transcends his office to presume to correct the tenor of the propositions he conveys, by either additions or change. . . . The preacher’s business is to take what is given him in the Scriptures, as it is given to him, and to endeavor to imprint it on the souls of men. All else is God’s work.

Source: R.L. Dabney, Evangelical Eloquence: A Course of Lectures on Preaching (Banner of Truth, 1999; originally published as Sacred Rhetoric, 1870), 36-37.

7. The faithful preacher stays focused on what matters.

G. Campbell Morgan: Nothing is more needed among preachers today than that we should have the courage to shake ourselves free from the thousand and one trivialities in which we are asked to waste our time and strength, and resolutely return to the apostolic ideal which made necessary the office of the diaconate. [We must resolve that] “we will continue steadfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the Word.”

Source: G. Campbell Morgan, This Was His Faith: The Expository Letters of G. Campbell Morgan, edited by Jill Morgan (Fleming Revell, Westwood, NJ), 1952.

8. The preacher’s task is to make the text come alive for his hearers.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: As preachers we must not forget this. We are not merely imparters of information. We should tell our people to read certain books themselves and get the information there. The business of preaching is to make such knowledge live. The same applies to lecturers in Colleges. The tragedy is that many lecturers simply dictate notes and the wretched students take them down. That is not the business of a lecturer or a professor. The students can read the books for themselves; the business of the professor is to put that on fire, to enthuse, to stimulate, to enliven. And that is the primary business of preaching. Let us take this to heart. … What we need above everything else today is moving, passionate, powerful preaching. It must be ‘warm’ and it must be ‘earnest’.

Source: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival.” Lecture delivered at the Puritan and Westminster Conference (1976).

9. The preacher is to be Christ-exalting, not self-promoting.

R.B. Kuiper: The minister must always remember that the dignity of his office adheres not in his person but in his office itself. He is not at all important, but his office is extremely important. Therefore he should take his work most seriously without taking himself seriously. He should preach the Word in season and out of season in forgetfulness of self. He should ever have an eye single to the glory of Christ, whom he preaches, and count himself out. It should be his constant aim that Christ, whom he represents, may increase while he himself decreases. Remembering that minister means nothing but servant, he should humbly, yet passionately, serve the Lord Christ and His church.

Source: R.B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ (Banner of Truth, 1966), 140-42.

10. Faithful preaching requires great personal discipline and sacrifice.

Arthur W. Pink: The great work of the pulpit is to press the authoritative claims of the Creator and Judge of all the earth—to show how short we have come of meeting God’s just requirements, to announce His imperative demand of repentance. . . . It requires a “workman” and not a lazy man—a student and not a slothful one—who studies to “show himself approved unto God” (2 Tim. 9:15) and not one who seeks the applause and the shekels of men.

Source: A. W. Pink, “Preaching False and True,” Online Source.

Sermon Preparation

 
Preaching is an important part of pastoral ministry, but preparation can be stewarded better with the right kind of help. |

What we say in the pulpit has the ability to transform people's lives, and lead them to be like Jesus.

In 2010 LifeWay Research found that Protestant pastors devote more time to sermon preparation than anything else they do—and that's good news.

Only 7% dedicate less than 5 hours a week, which is a smaller number than the 9% who dedicate more than 25 hours per week to sermon preparation.
The preaching of God's Word matters greatly.
That's a lot of time out of a pastor's work-week. With 65% of pastors working at least 50 hours a week, that indicates to us that the average pastor is dedicating a significant amount of time in sermon preparation.

You don't have to wait until the week before to start listening to the Holy Spirit!

God is just as present in your planning and preparation months in advance as He is "in the moment," and by getting ahead you give Him time to reveal even more inspiration to you as each Sunday's topic approaches. Plus, you'll be able to engage more of your creative staff and volunteers to make each Sunday the best it can be, for God's glory!

 

God has spoken in Scripture. It is the business of all Christians to seek to understand God's Word and put it into practice. If this is the case for every believer, then it is certainly true for pastors. Their key task is to teach and apply the message of the Bible for the salvation of the lost and the building up of the people of God. Acts 20:17-41.

Preaching

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Don’t preach yourself – Over the years our own flesh has this amazing ability to get used to being the centre of attention. If you are naive enough to believe the polite comments you receive after preaching are objective evaluations of your ministry significance, then you can easily start to buy into your own hype. Please don’t.

Do preach Christ – The Gospel is not a self-starting life-change program, it is good news that involves us introducing listeners to God in Christ. Don’t preach self-help programs, or church programs, or Christian morality, or even Christianity . . . preach Christ. Make 2015 a year marked by a weekly introduction to a heart-capturing Saviour!
 

Preaching: Getting People to take the Message Home

Preaching should be as whetting the appetite for the Word of God. Getting your people in the Word is really the key to Christian growth. The culture is full of distractions, and our culture is adept at using the distractions that surround us to keep us from desiring and ingesting God's Word. Its not just hearing us preach it is taking what we preach home.
I believe one of our aims in preaching is to motivate our hearers to desire the “pure spiritual milk” that is God’s Word. In that sense then, preaching is the confluence of three important dimensions.

• First, our preaching must lift up Scripture as God’s authoritative declaration to us.
• Second, our preaching must flow out of a passionate, insightful, and personal experience we as preachers have had in our study of the Word.
• Third, our preaching must deliver practical application, model good scriptural reading and interpretation, as well as motivate our hearers to personally engage and apply God’s Word in their lives.

Here are a few suggestions to us as preachers for whetting the appetites of our hearers.

1. Shine a light on your study insights. Though it goes without saying, we must make time weekly for intense study and application of Scripture. Not only does this build the foundation for the content of our preaching, but we should also offer commentary when appropriate in our preaching as to how we came across biblical insights and application. We might also want to use social media (Twitter, Facebook, and blogging) as a means to shed light on our study habits for the benefit of our congregation.
2. Preach in series that encourages your congregation to read and study along with your series. We should preach in series regularly that help our congregation understand Scripture and books of the Bible as a whole. We should suggest with our series ways to read, study, meditate, and memorize in the passages we are going to preach. It might also be helpful to recommend books and commentaries along with each series and make them available as resources to our hearers.
3. Show and share how the practical application of Scripture is developing you as a preacher of God’s Word. Finally, if we want to whet our hearers’ appetites for God’s Word, we must assure them that the interpretation and application of Scripture can be accessed and accomplished by the Christian who is not a professional preacher. We can do this by regularly illustrating how Scripture is molding and shaping us. We can also be intentional about offering clear insights in our sermons as to how our hearers could read, study, meditate on, and apply Scripture.

The bottom line is that our congregation’s desire for and growth in the Word of God will seldom if ever exceed the example of its pastor. And if we want hearers who desire the spiritual milk of God’s Word, it is our job to deliver the Word in such a way as to make its intake desirable and effective. So let’s try in our preaching to make them hungry for God’s Word.
cf. Chris Hefner

Why I Don’t Preach Against Going To Movies

Charity and I went to see the film God Is Not Dead. 

My mindset, that of a Christian Pastor/Teacher, has been for 49 years.  My father was a preacher and he was a great preacher and father and husband and friend.  I learned a lot from him.  What I learned from him was as a father, I don’t remember a lot about his preaching.  I learned what he believed by what he would want us to live. 

Dad was not into movies or films or television.  Looking back  to the 60’’s there was not much on TV that was so harmful.  And going to the movies was not something that we did either.  I do remember the first movie I saw at the movie place was “Gone With The Wind>”  To this day I still like that movie.   Jerry Lewis was on at the movies too, but  we just didn’t go a lot. Maybe when we went to visit our Grandparents Greene in North Carolina, we would go see a Jerry Lewis movie with our cousins.

Going to movies was something that we related to as SIN.  Hollywood and the like.  When I first started out preaching and teaching, this was the one topic that you just had to address.  You couldn’t preach without mentioning something that was sinful: movies, dancing, playing cards, drinking beer, having long hair, tattoos, you know the list.  It was not preaching if you did not address all these things that you did not do.   Those were the days. 

Well, finally in 1982 when I was at First Baptist Church, Altoona, Kansas after two years of preaching Jack Hyles type of preaching I went to the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church, where Dr. John MacArthur pastors, and learned what real preaching was.  That was a shock.

I finally learned what the  onus or responsibility of the pastor was.  I began teaching verse by verse the book of Matthew.  I learned that my onus was to teach the Word of God, to teach from the Bible, and from the book of Matthew to teach what the chapter was saying.

What I discovered was the first chapter of Matthew did not say one thing about dancing, and going to movies, I was shocked,   So the sermon I was told had to give understanding of the scripture that was before me when I preached.  So how am I going to get in the sins I wanted to address, after all I wanted people to live right.

God’s goal is to conform His people into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.   I was told that the means whereby we do this is to use the ancient text called the Word of God. I was to give understanding of what Matthew  had written down in the Gospel of Matthew. That was a shock.

If I was going to help the people learn how to live the Christian life, and become believers that loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts, soul and mind, then I had to present to them the Word of God as was written in the book of Matthew, Romans, I Corinthians, Acts, etc.

I learned that preaching all starts with a text.  and scripture was to be the predominant medium of divine communication to people who were under our care as a Shepherd/Pastor/Teacher. 

I was told (John MacArthur and the staff) that as a preacher I had this one responsibility and that was to teach the text that was before me each week.

So from October 1982 when I begin to teach expositionally, that is verse by verse.  I made myself say only what the text was saying. 

So from Jack Hyles type of preaching to John MacArthur type of teaching I began this journey that has lasted now for thirty-two years.

Our assistant pastor at FBC was telling the people that I had quit preaching and went to teaching, that I had quit preaching on sin. And I had another preacher friend say, “Charles if you would quit spending so much time studying and start preaching you would have a bigger church.”

I had learned that if the Scripture didn’t say it I was not to preach it. If the scripture that I was to teach didn’t say anything about a specific sin I was not to bring it up. 

Now this was for me  a new special hermeneutics, the science of interpretation of Scripture. Not only how to preach but how to understand  the Word of God.  Learning to say what the author said, rather than what I want to say. 

I  had always believed that preaching the Word of God was preaching on SIN, and getting people saved, and living right, and going out soul winning, and dressing right.  Which is still our goal, but now there is a new way of accomplishing that.  Preach the Scriptures verse by verse.

I learned that as preachers we were to preach the Word and then allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in the lives of those who heard the Word.

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Charity you can stop proof reading now. And thanks, and have I been truthful about what I have said?

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I just read the review from http://www.avclub.com/review/gods-not-dead-mess-even-christian-film-standards-202571 and  which said in the open paragrapha

Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry, God’s Not Dead is a disaster. It’s an uninspired amble past a variety of Christian-email-forward boogeymen that feels far too long at just 113 minutes. Resembling a megachurch more than a movie, it’s been designed not to convey any particular message, but to reinforce the stereotypes its chosen audience already holds. It weirdly fetishizes persecution, and many of its story decisions—like randomly tossing in Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson or concluding on an endless concert from popular Christian rock group Newsboys—seem designed to simply get butts in seats. To say God’s Not Dead preaches to the choir would be an understatement. It’s the pastor, staring in a mirror, preaching to himself.

Another website http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/25/gods-not-dead-producer-answers-critics-who-say-film-is-too-over-the-top/

“Friendly Atheist” blogger Hemant Mehta called the film ”one of those movies ripped right from the pages of Snopes.” And Libby Anne of the “Love, Joy, Feminism” blog said its premise is “so unrealistic as to be ludicrous.”

While Wolfe acknowledged that the film is essentially preaching to the choir because it helps “people know more of why they believe what they believe,” he also said that there is potential for “God’s Not Dead” to reach nonbelievers, too.

There is a video of an interview of Kevin Sorbo, lead actor in the God’s Not Dead movie http://godsnotdead.org/

PERSONALLY CHARITY AND CHARLES WHISNANT, LIKED THE FILM.

Early Preaching in Roanoke VA

The only photo that I have of myself as a teenager and I was at youth camp in N.C.

When I started teaching the Bible back in Roanoke, Virginia in December 1963 Dad gave me the young people's class since the teacher went to the Army.  For the text 27 months (February  1966 I taught that class ever week, while I was still in high school. 

 I was dating Saundra Richardson from the tenth grade until I sent to Seminary in 1966. Love Saundra and love the Lord and love teaching.  My Dad died in February 1966 and that ended my teaching at Roanoke Baptist Temple. I did go over to Fellowship Baptist Church with Gene Arnold and preached and taught in the High School class until Mom and the family moved to Danville, Virginia. And in my first year at Seminary was great and when I went back to Danville, Sandra got married to my surprise.  She had written me ever day in 1966 but in 1967 the stopped and then I knew why.  I have not gotten over that yet, all these years later. She married twice and she passed always in 2010.  

Now those years teaching in Roanoke, without knowing really what I was really doing, I was studying the Bible. Thank goodness Dad had a great library of great books and I really loved reading them.  I spend a lot of time reading the Bible and reading those who knew the Bible. 

Then I went to seminary and there I learn that preaching was not teaching. I did learn a lot what the Bible. Well what they said about the Bible, but they never gave me the tools to study the Bible, because that was not the right way to study and preach. 

Well for the next few churches I was in churches where the pastor did not preach verse by verse and therefore I just taught what ever. From 1970 to 1982.

It was not until 1982 that I got back on tract with teaching the bible as I did when I was in high school.

Shepherd's Conference 2013/General Session 5/Question & Answer

These men give an insight into how the prepare for a sermon. Great.

The Manner In Which We Preach

WHAT ROLE DOES THE BIBLE HAVE IN OUR CHURCH AT RIVERS OF JOY BAPTIST ?
 I have seen several ladies like this over the years.

The lady was angry:  “You don’t tell me what I’m expected to do!  All you do is talk about God!”

What is seems you do is explain what the text says about God and who He is and what He does. Romans 9 does that a lot. 

I might admit that while I spend a lot of time in the sermon about how good and great and authoritive God is, I had a relatively brief invitation to the people to seek more of God.  

I learned from John MacArthur that preaching is only as good as God will bring the message to the hearer’s heart and mind.  When I finish with the text, I step back and leave room for the Spirit to spend time with His followers, to offer His own applications to the sermon.

So what kind of preacher/teacher do I need to be that will give the best results?  What kind of results do you want Charles?  Well, I would like people to live like Christ. To reflect His likeness. 

How are you going to get people to do that? Well, make them feel guilty?????   Many preacher do that.

Other preachers give a number of life principles that is a do list of instructions that is designed to help them learn how to live a Christian life of does and don’t. Well that might work.

I could be like Moses. His work was to ride herd on a throng of mostly-unbelieving Israelites (Hebrews 4). Sounds like a lot of preachers today.  A church of unbelievers who need to be whipped into action.
On the other hand is there another way of preaching to bring about change in the lives of people?

I could have a lot of counseling and self-help guides that will instruct people in “steps-to-success-with-God. That should do it.  Being there and done this a lot.
So what just what is the answer than: Well, what does the Bible teach us, (via John MacArthur years ago):

Apart from the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians2) and the New Birth, that is the coming of the Spirit to live within us – is the only “how to” that makes a difference in us (John 3 and 2 Corinthians 3)'

Here is the point preachers, if we really want to see change that is real, and transforming application, listen to the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is so good and effective in speaking to the spiritual dead souls, or deaf souls.  And hear this, only the Spirit can stir the will to any authentic works that God want to appear rather than the work of the flesh.

 Here it is preacher, without the active presence of the Holy Spirit on Sunday or Wednesday, in  the listener’s heart, no preacher stands a ounce of making that person who is sitting in the pew into more than a nicely polished Pharisee. 
  
I want more than just to get people to cultivate compliance to rules on conduct.  What I want is to invite those in the pew to Jesus who offers us “rivers of living water’s (Rivers of Joy ) by His Spirit’s coming into our lives, hearts, John 7:38-39 will do.  

In some churches the Bible is dismissed or disbelieved.   Here the Bible is but a token and the sermons reflect some kind of cultural political or contemporary bias determined by the preacher.
They say about the Bible, its not really the reality of today’s thought. If God wrote the Bible today He would not have the same views as the Bible did when it was original written.
For the most part the Bible they say is more of a “mythology” in text.  

While in the church where they whole to the authority of the bible it is preached, explained and applied and honored as it is in our church.

SO HOW IS THE BIBLE USED IN DIFFERENT CHURCHES AND PREACHING?
Peter Meads gives three uses to be found in different ministries
1.  BIBLE ROLE #1 Instruction Manual

Peter points out that the Bible is used as a basic instructions before leaving Earth.  BIBLE.   Listen and Obey

Here the bible is held aloft and honoured like a mechanical guide for fixing the care of your life.   The Bible contains instructions that are to be obeyed in order to achieve successful independent living.   The instructions may be moral code or life principles.   The leverage will tend to be greater pressure and some form of guilt. 

2.  BIBLE ROLE #2  Experience Gateway:

Let’s look at it to see that what God is doing in our midst today is what he has always done, turn with me to the narrative of……. role of the Bible

Here the Bible is used  as an endorsement of something to be experienced by the more spiritual.  Using a more obscure corner of scripture, the wording is used to drive home a personal pursuit of profound experience. 

3.  BIBLE ROLE #3     Personal Introduction

Here the Bible is used  to introduce God . God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is reveled and here I really long for you to meet Him.

 The Bible is not honored in itself, like the KJV is to be honored.  But the Bible is a gift from God.  The Bible then is a personal  revelation of God the Father in the person of His Son  by the work of the Spirit, that calls for response for the sake of relationship.  

The leverage hre is to be the presenter’s delight in fellowship with God. 

Some respond with delight in what they see and read and hear in the Bible, learning in and discovering A god that is a delight to know.

 What some learn and are amazed is that God is so wonderful and they discover that God is a delight to know.   They are amazed that God loves them to the point of saving them even when they don’t deserved it at all.

And some will be as a result of knowing God will gradual but profoundly transformational.   In the course of time, these people will seem warmed from the inside-out as the work of God in their hearts spills into their attitudes and actions.
While others will resisted what is being presented by the Bible and the preaching by the preacher.

What most people do in hearing this kind of preaching will be to complain because  their deepest desire is essentially something other than genuine fellowship  with this Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ..

Some just might prefer (1) to be guiled with pressure to perform.  or (2) instructed so they can tick the boxes and press ahead (3) or they might just prefer a super-spirituality that is shaped by something other than the biblical marital motif.
Here is the bottom line my flesh is attracted to role 1 and 2. My heart is stirred by role 3. 

1 Why I Preach The Way I Do

Sunday May 20 2012

I thank I was praying here below on Sunday Evening.

Last week I was speaking from Romans (above)






In our Adult Bible study class we are teaching a series on
Can we trust