Preaching

It is vitally important to preach. God commands us in his Word that preaching is necessary for salvation.

Romans 10:13-15 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

1 Corinthians 1:18-21 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolishness the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

Here is something to consider. Paul exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 2:4 "And my speech and my preaching was not with the enticing words of mans wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

Paul knew that man's wisdom could not move mountains. In this verse Paul is not talking about healing the sick, raising the dead or speaking in tongues. He is still speaking about his speech and preaching. He was allowing God to manifest himself through Paul to demonstrate the Power of the spoken Word! The blood and the flesh of Christ at work, meaning, the Word of God and the Spirit of God when in conjunction with one another brings about power. A man can get up and preach all day from the bible and quote scripture until he is blue in the face but he can not move a mountain unless his faith touches God and God moves with his Spirit.

Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." What does this mean? What does it have to do with preaching? A small child is not wise. Matter of fact they believe whatever their Father tells them. If they are hurt they expect their Father to come and pick them up and make them well. If they need something, if they're hungry a loving Father will fill that need. The child has faith in their earthly Father. A child trusts and respects their Father. No wisdom is applied, just blind faith. This is what Paul was talking about when he said "by the foolishness of preaching man is saved." We cannot reach God through intellect and book knowledge. It takes faith. We must believe in the things we cannot see as though they were.

Jesus commanded that we preach. Luke 9:60 "Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go though and preach the kingdom of God."

Mark 16:15 "And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

The spoken Word of God when embellished with God's Spirit produces power!

Genesis 1:2-3 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." What does this prove you may be wondering? It proves that with the Spirit, a simple Word does not make things happen. Before God spoke "the Spirit" moved upon the face of the waters. God spoke and this spoken Word had power. Why? Because the three together brings forth results. Three you asked? Yes three! God the Father who spoke, The Holy Spirit which moved, and the Word of God which is Jesus who performed it.

John Chapter 1 starting with verse 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men."

This is speaking of Jesus who was with God from the beginning as the Word of God. Jesus was indeed the voice of God. He was the voice of God as a man; he was the voice of God for creation. He was the voice in Genesis 3:8 "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." Yes the voice of God, Jesus in the beginning walking in the Garden of Eden.

The Word of God is mighty when the Spirit goes forth with it. Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerned of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Word of God is a revealer! When that Word goes out it makes people think, and consider and examine themselves. It reveals truth! If a person is living a lie and existing in denial then that person is in darkness. The spoken word will manifest and open the eyes of the blind.

In the Book of Revelation Jesus is described in Revelation 1:16 "and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword."

Preaching is necessary if we are going to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Christ Jesus,

Dale Thompson