There is something about the preached Word of God. There is an idiom in that sentence that pervades American culture...."there is something about that girl that I can't get out of my mind"....or...."there is something about that man that bothers me?"
There are doctrinal explanations to this.....for the preached Word is said to be a 'means of grace.' That means that you actually get something spiritually tangible from hearing God's Word preached....but still....I have found that that definition does not quite do justice to hearing God's Word preached with the power of the Holy Spirit!
The above YouTube video is maybe forty years old. It is a wonderful rendition of what John Bunyan preaching in the forest might have been like. The actor portraying Bunyan does a masterful job....but then....his script contained the gospel of Jesus Christ! It's only 30 minutes long. Father....or mom....tomorrow....Lord willing....as you return home from church....gather the family around to watch it. Bless your family through the efforts of Gateway Films/ Vision Video that put this video together so long ago.
God gave Charles Haddon Spurgeon to London and to the entire world....this in the latter half of the 1800s....but that was a gift that keeps on giving. He would preach on a scriptural text....and use that text....to preach what he believed that God gave him to preach. There is a big difference from simply explaining that text. His topics could be anywhere....and often were dictated by the condition of the church and the need of the church in that day.
God gave Martyn Lloyd-Jones to London and to the entire world....this in about the same amount of years....though in the middle parts of the 1900s....and it also was a gift that keeps on giving. He would begin most of his sermons with these words...."The words that I would like to draw your attention to this morning are found in....(whatever scriptural test he was preaching on.) He also would explain that text....but go well beyond a simple Bible study explanation that anyone could do themselves if they were so dedicated.
There is an anecdote of Spurgeon that I will do my best to relate. He was only 16 years old when he preached his first sermon. It was obvious that God had gifted him....and the elders around him thought that he should go off and be taught....Spurgeon agreed to that....and a meeting was set with a famous teacher....at a certain address. Spurgeon showed up....and the teacher showed up....only they were in different rooms of that address....and did not meet....and thus young Charles just went on to become the preacher that he was to become. Spurgeon said that not anyone could be a preacher....but that God could choose anyone to preach.
My advice to any preacher....is to at least have enough humility to realize that God....if He should choose to do so....could have the man breaking free the clogged-up fetid sewage in the church basement drain....point out the pastor's shortcomings....and advise him to go in a different direction. After all....that John Bunyan....who at first would have been like a man today who drives around in a beaten-up old pickup with a makeshift sign on it...."Handyman"....on him the grand scholar of the age John Owens once testified to the king...."May it please your Majesty, if I could possess the tinker's abilities to grip men's hearts, I would gladly give in exchange all my learning." To that pastor today....who has a plan....fine....but also be open to God's Holy Spirit!
There is an anecdote of Spurgeon that I will do my best to relate. He was only 16 years old when he preached his first sermon. It was obvious that God had gifted him....and the elders around him thought that he should go off and be taught....Spurgeon agreed to that....and a meeting was set with a famous teacher....at a certain address. Spurgeon showed up....and the teacher showed up....only they were in different rooms of that address....and did not meet....and thus young Charles just went on to become the preacher that he was to become. Spurgeon said that not anyone could be a preacher....but that God could choose anyone to preach.
My advice to any preacher....is to at least have enough humility to realize that God....if He should choose to do so....could have the man breaking free the clogged-up fetid sewage in the church basement drain....point out the pastor's shortcomings....and advise him to go in a different direction. After all....that John Bunyan....who at first would have been like a man today who drives around in a beaten-up old pickup with a makeshift sign on it...."Handyman"....on him the grand scholar of the age John Owens once testified to the king...."May it please your Majesty, if I could possess the tinker's abilities to grip men's hearts, I would gladly give in exchange all my learning." To that pastor today....who has a plan....fine....but also be open to God's Holy Spirit!
