More than anything else, this country needs biblical and faithful preachers of the gospel. It needs bold men who preach without any apologies, the truths of the Bible. Preachers who proclaim Christ and Him crucified. Men who are committed to preaching the whole counsel of God.
True Biblical preaching is in great danger of being lost in the churches of today. But preaching is the only way we can expect the blessing of God upon us. Preaching is in danger of being supplanted
by various kinds of entertainment – choirs, films, drama, testimonies, and even preaching that is full of stories and jokes – with the aim of attracting people and making them ‘to enjoy’ the service.
This is to forget that God has commanded preaching, the delivering of an authoritative message from God, like the watchman on a city wall (Ezekiel 3:16-21, 33:7-9, Acts 20:26-27). Our message is one of life and death. Can you imagine a doctor, after having diagnosed the serious condition of the patient, introducing his words with a joke or a song?
No, he will speak clearly, yet with compassion, about what needs to be done to save the life. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in Preaching and Preachers, gives the following reasons why serious, relevant, powerful preaching must be the at centre of every local church:
1. It is what our Lord did during His earthly ministry. His ministry is described as being one of “preaching” and “teaching” (Matthew 4:17,23, 9:35, 11:1) and He expected the same gospel to be preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14, 26:13).
2. It is what the apostles of Christ did in fulfilling the commission they were given (Matthew 28:18-20). Their primary task was to be witnesses of Christ by preaching Him, that He is the One God promised long ago to be the Saviour of the world. They were forbidden to preach by the religious authorities, but they would not disobey their Lord (Acts 4:18-20). They were being overwhelmed by other duties, so they appointed others to do these things so they could concentrate on their preaching (Acts 6:2,4).
3. It is only the proclamation of the gospel message that can deal with our deepest needs of blindness and ignorance (2 Corinthians 4.....). The problem with all men as sinners is that they are blind and ignorant (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Ephesians 4:17-18). Truth is the medicine needed, for only the truth as it is in Christ can set sinners free ( John 8:32, 1 Timothy 2:4). Only by believing the truth can anyone be saved. And God wants this truth to be made known by preaching (see Romans 10:14-15, 1 Corinthians 1:17-
24). Such preaching may seem very weak, especially in today’s world where there are so many more ‘attractive’ means of communication. But God has inseparably tied His
promise to the preaching of the truth in Christ from the Bible. May God be pleased to raise up many more faithful preachers in our day!
O Lord of mercy, may you be pleased to visit this country with faithful preachers, faithful heralds of the gospel of Christ. May you raise then in every village, every location, every town and every county... that Christ may be known, and believed, and loved and served! Yes Lord pour out upon us faithful evangelists and pastors and teachers of your Word. Men who will boldly reject and combat false teaching so prevalent in our day. That your Name will be glorified. That sinners may be brought to faith and lordship of Christ. That Christians may be built up to maturity so that they will no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. That preachers may rightly handle the Word of Truth. In Christ's Name. Amen!
http://www.trinity.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Issue-116-.pdf
True Biblical preaching is in great danger of being lost in the churches of today. But preaching is the only way we can expect the blessing of God upon us. Preaching is in danger of being supplanted
by various kinds of entertainment – choirs, films, drama, testimonies, and even preaching that is full of stories and jokes – with the aim of attracting people and making them ‘to enjoy’ the service.
This is to forget that God has commanded preaching, the delivering of an authoritative message from God, like the watchman on a city wall (Ezekiel 3:16-21, 33:7-9, Acts 20:26-27). Our message is one of life and death. Can you imagine a doctor, after having diagnosed the serious condition of the patient, introducing his words with a joke or a song?
No, he will speak clearly, yet with compassion, about what needs to be done to save the life. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in Preaching and Preachers, gives the following reasons why serious, relevant, powerful preaching must be the at centre of every local church:
1. It is what our Lord did during His earthly ministry. His ministry is described as being one of “preaching” and “teaching” (Matthew 4:17,23, 9:35, 11:1) and He expected the same gospel to be preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14, 26:13).
2. It is what the apostles of Christ did in fulfilling the commission they were given (Matthew 28:18-20). Their primary task was to be witnesses of Christ by preaching Him, that He is the One God promised long ago to be the Saviour of the world. They were forbidden to preach by the religious authorities, but they would not disobey their Lord (Acts 4:18-20). They were being overwhelmed by other duties, so they appointed others to do these things so they could concentrate on their preaching (Acts 6:2,4).
3. It is only the proclamation of the gospel message that can deal with our deepest needs of blindness and ignorance (2 Corinthians 4.....). The problem with all men as sinners is that they are blind and ignorant (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Ephesians 4:17-18). Truth is the medicine needed, for only the truth as it is in Christ can set sinners free ( John 8:32, 1 Timothy 2:4). Only by believing the truth can anyone be saved. And God wants this truth to be made known by preaching (see Romans 10:14-15, 1 Corinthians 1:17-
24). Such preaching may seem very weak, especially in today’s world where there are so many more ‘attractive’ means of communication. But God has inseparably tied His
promise to the preaching of the truth in Christ from the Bible. May God be pleased to raise up many more faithful preachers in our day!
O Lord of mercy, may you be pleased to visit this country with faithful preachers, faithful heralds of the gospel of Christ. May you raise then in every village, every location, every town and every county... that Christ may be known, and believed, and loved and served! Yes Lord pour out upon us faithful evangelists and pastors and teachers of your Word. Men who will boldly reject and combat false teaching so prevalent in our day. That your Name will be glorified. That sinners may be brought to faith and lordship of Christ. That Christians may be built up to maturity so that they will no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. That preachers may rightly handle the Word of Truth. In Christ's Name. Amen!
http://www.trinity.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Issue-116-.pdf
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