In the Bible, the word preach is mentioned 50 times and the word preaching occurs 27 times. To preach is to proclaim. It is not just a pretty speech made by a charismatic personality that can hold people’s attention. It is explaining God’s word so all will be able to understand God’s design for mankind. In Titus 1:3 Paul tells Titus to make known (manifest) the word of God by preaching. His word refers to the whole revelation of the gospel. This was a time when Christianity was in its infancy. The Jews were still fighting the gospel and those outside of the church were ignorant of it also. Now, Paul is saying openly, tell everything about God’s grace and how they too can know God through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Titus 1:3 “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior”
Preaching was not a new novel idea to those in Biblical times. In II Peter 2:5, Noah was called a preacher of righteousness. No doubt, those 120 years between the command to build the ark and the entering the Ark was a time when Noah preached to others about the Salvation available by getting on the Ark. Just like today, the multitude didn’t take him seriously and all but his family perished in the flood. Yet, it was vital for him to tell them of the impending danger.
II Peter 2:5 “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”
Preaching has always been a method of proclaiming the gospel, of telling others how to be right with God. This was what Jonah was to do in Nineveh. After his rebellion, Jonah preached and many turned to God. Jesus refers to Jonah as a preacher in Matthew 12:41.
Matthew 12:41 “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”
In our day and age, I Corinthians 1:21 would seem to be the description most would have of preaching. They would call it foolishness to sit and listen to someone tell them the answer to eternal life is through Jesus Christ. We live in a world where the majority of people are their own gods. They feel their understanding of life and the hereafter life is just as important as anyone else. When they refuse to listen to the preaching and adhere to Biblical preaching, Paul says it is foolishness to them and they will perish, but for those who are saved, it is the power of God.
I Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
I Corinthians 1:21 “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.”
Those who profess faith in Jesus Christ should love the preaching of the word. It should be an opportunity to grow closer to God, to know and understand His word. It should be reverenced and respected as God speaking to us through His man that He has chosen. A preacher who is surrendered to God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit is the messenger from God to explain God’s word. He is bringing to our attention information the Holy Spirit will use to convict us. Conviction yielded to should bring change, a change that will make us more like Jesus. God’s design for our lives is to be conformed to the image of His dear Son.
Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Now that we have established the reason for preaching, what are you doing with the preaching of God’s word? First, are you listening, asking the Holy Spirit to bring to your attention things you need to change in reference to the message?
Second, are you being respectful of others while the preaching is going on? Do you try to eliminate any movement or noise that would draw attention away from the preaching? It only takes a moment for Satan to snatch away the impact that the preaching should have. According to scientists our attention span at best is 15 to 20 minutes before our thoughts begin to wander. For most people, depending on their age and mental abilities, it is about 5-10 minutes. Therefore, it is imperative that we do all we can to minimize distractions. Especially during a time of invitation when people are determining what they will do with what they heard.
Third, are you teaching your children from birth that preaching is serious business? It is God’s word being given to us by God’s man. If not, you are giving them the wrong idea about preaching. As they grow up, they may learn to sit quietly, but that doesn’t mean they get the message. I challenge parents to teach their children from a very early age to sit and listen and quiz them afterward. Reward them if they can tell you one thing the preacher talked about. This is training them to respect the word and hear the word. Many adults have grown up to go through the motions but not really listen. How do I know this? Because if we listen and obey there will be a change in our lives. When the preacher teaches that we are to be faithful to all services we will be there. When he teaches passages about gossip, it will cease in the church.
The evidence is real that we are not understanding and obeying the reason and power of preaching in the modern-day church. There is also evidence that we are passing this same mentality down to the next generation. Maybe you were raised to go to church and go through the motions. It is time for a change for the sake of your own spiritual walk and for those you have influence over.
Why preaching? So that we may know Him and make Him known to all.
