Sunday, April 23, 2006

Bring It!

Every once and a while someone will stop me in the foyer before I preach and exhort me to "bring it!" and what they are referring to of course, is the Word of God. The problem with that is two fold:

1. I must "have" it in order to "bring" it. Some Sundays I honestly don't own the text and the text doesn't own me and I'm just trying to point people to it the best I can. Other times, I've been so convicted by Holy Spirit and so filled with a God message that "bringing it" is my only option. It is, as Jeremiah so eloquently put it, "like a fire within my bones."

2. The listeners of the message must "want it" to a degree. I believe that the Holy Spirit can (and does) change a heart mid message however, usually the ones who come expecting a word from the Lord and the ones who get it. If someone is looking for a pick me up and God is bringing a knock me down, then what we often get is a classic "failure to communicate"

Mike Cope shared a great thought about preaching this morning and his first comment came from a guy named Lawrence Underwood, who shared this great quote from Alistair Begg: "Think yourself dry, read yourself full, write yourself clear, and pray yourself hot."

I was Mike's second comment (early bird gets the worm - Second rat gets the cheese!) and shared a quote about preaching that has been heavy on my heart and comes from St. Francis de Sales, a seventeenth century saint and the patron saint of authors: "The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not, "What a lovely sermon," but, "I will do something!"

I hope we all do something with the Word we receive this morning. It is time for both the speaker and the listener to "bring it" to a world that is in desperate need for "it"

5 comments:

Stephen Bailey said...

I am doing something with the message I heard this morning. I'm naked right now. As the man who delivered that message, I'll let you explain that.

Joel said...

"The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not, "What a lovely sermon," but, "I will do something!"

In response to Stephen's comment:

That is what I'm talking about!!!

AMEN Baby!

That brings new meaning to "bringing it!"

We will see you tomorrow.

Hopefully around noon.:)

Stacey said...

Joel-

Thanks for your prayer for the Bourland's on Mike's blog today. I appreciate your heart for those who are hurting.

Mark D said...

Awesome post!

What good is preaching that merely tickles ears or pats the back and doesn't also point outside the church walls and give a kick in the behind?

:)

Lovell's Lookout said...

Amen Brother... PReaching for real change is such a challenge. The temptation in our culture just to entertain is always so pervasive. Hey dude- are you going the the Connect Pastors deal?