Christian Blogs, Millpond Ink Musing
Millpond Ink Musing, 2015 – Of Effective Preaching
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote that the evidence of the spiritual gift of teaching is that the Word, effectively taught affects the heart, soul, mind and the will of the hearer. Jeremiah Burroughs said of such preaching that at its’ end the hearer will find himself either closer to heaven or to hell.
Why? Because God Himself told us that His Word will not return void. In 1 Peter 4:11, we are commended to speak as the oracles of God. Still, how many of us after we returned home from church, reentered a seeming void? We recall nothing of the sermon but a faint impression that no one fainted. No one trembled. No one called out, ‘Lord, what must I do to be saved?’ or, ‘Lord help thou my unbelief?’
These two cries are the cries of the penitent and will be answered, while many hallelujahs, amens and ‘praise the Lords’ will fall on deaf ears. Ours is not to preach agreement but to stir up. The battle fought is a violent one where the flesh lusts after the Spirit and the Spirit, the flesh.
