Pastor's Corner

We’ve all heard that at one time or another.

We may have even SAID that ourselves…LAST SUNDAY! What is it that makes for a boring, lifeless sermon? Why is it that so many people feel like they have to drag themselves to church rather than go out of a sense of great anticipation or even excitement for what God will reveal to them through the preaching of His Word? Being in ministry now for 22 years, I know how easy it is to get into the “rut” of trying to accommodate the culture and try to “entertain” with cute quips or messages that will “hold the attention” of my hearers.

And after all, many preachers today have fallen prey to this temptation and have sold out entirely to that model.

They are dubbed “successful” by the culture because of the vast crowds that gather for the “lighter fare” being served up each Sunday.

Many of them are master comedians or storytellers (not that humor or good illustrations are wrong…I use them often) and have strayed from preaching the Word of God at all, aside from a few verses thrown in here and there to make it seem “biblical”.

Certainly God has a better balance in mind for His spokesmen and for those who gather to hear them!

The answer, of course, is found in the Word of God. The apostle Paul was NOT known for his great oratory skills or his appearance. Both were “wanting” in the eyes of some (see II Cor. 10:10). Yet, his preaching was powerful. What was it that made it so? Observe his own testimony and I think you will find the answer. In the following passage, Paul is reliving the days when he first went to Corinth to start a church there:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (I Cor. 2:1-5, NKJV).

Several things emerge from Paul’s testimony.

First, we see what Paul did NOT use in his sermons: “excellence of speech or of wisdom”/”persuasive words of human wisdom” (vv. 1, 4).

In other words, Paul refused to draw on his wealth of learning or vocabulary in his delivery, though he certainly had an abundant reservoir to draw from (see Phil.

3:4-6).

Second, we learn something of his condition, both physically and emotionally.

He said, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (v. 3).

Paul had just been through physical persecution, which weakened him severely.

Also, his preceding experience surely made him reluctant to address a new crowd…a crowd that could prove to be just as hostile! Hence, he had “fear and trembling”.

Normally, this is not the most desired physical and emotional make-up that you would want for an effective message…of any kind!

But now notice the other things that characterized Paul’s message…and these provide the key to our questions above.

First, in declaring the testimony of God (v. 1, which is the Word of God), he made ONE THING the focal point: “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (v. 2).

The great British preacher C.H. Spurgeon use to say, “I take my text, no matter where it is in the Bible, and I make a bee-line for the cross!” This is what Paul did, always.

In the ocean of Biblical and theological truth, there is the North Star…“Jesus Christ and Him crucified”.

As it has been said, the person and work of Christ is the crimson thread that holds all of the Scriptures together.

And indeed it is! But notice another thing that characterized Paul’s preaching.

It was “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (v. 4).

There’s one doctrine that the Spirit of God seems to anoint more than any other when God’s servants proclaim it…the atoning (substitutionary) death of Jesus Christ for sinners! Jesus told His disciples that, after He would go back to the Father, the Holy Spirit would come to live in them and “glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14).

Also, speaking of the cross, Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

Oh the power of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to take the message of His finished work on the cross to draw us to Himself! It’s like a magnet to our sin-sick souls!

But notice, finally, that Paul gives us the reason for such simple yet Spirit anointed preaching: “that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (v. 5).

Earlier in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us what the power of God is: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (I Cor.

1:18).

Notice, the message of the cross IS the power of God! So…the thrust of what Paul is saying is this: When a man preaches the simple message of the cross, of Christ’s taking our sins on the cross and suffering God’s wrath in our place, the power of God is on display! And the OBJECT of our faith is not the preacher, ourselves or our works, but Christ and His cross! That’s why Gospel preaching should never be boring, but rather “a demonstration of the Spirit and of power”.

Do you know this Christ? He offers eternal life to all who will turn to Him alone by faith for salvation.

Dean Ellis

Pastor of Evangelism & Outreach

First Baptist Church, Colfax