Today, I completed segment 7, "The Power of God's Word." Dr. Edwards offers the power of the Word as one of the reasons we must preach. There is power in God's Word.
With a Word, all of creation came into existence. Think about that. There was a time of complete nothingness then, a voice rings out, "Let it be..." And, it was. In that instant, nothingness became a vast somethingness! Galaxies and suns and planets sprang into existence at His Word.
At the sound of God's voice, land appeared. He says, "Let it be..." And, it was! He speaks and tectonic action starts moving. A land mass responds to His call. His Word reshapes our world.
God's Word has an effect. If He says you are healed, then you are. If He says you are forgiven, you are. If He says rise from the dead, you do. There is no need for technology or hospitals. His Word makes all the difference in our lives.
God sends people with a Word. Those Words have changes the destiny of nations (i.e., Nineva). His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. It is powerful. It is eternal. It is the most powerful force the universe has ever seen. We are blessed to hear His voice. Let's share the Word!
Robert Powell — Edited
In segment 15, "True to the Bible in Content, " Dr. Edwards demonstrated how easily we can go astray with popularly quoted texts when we see the verse as a stand along passage, rather than how it fits into the bigger picture. Take Matthew 7:7 for example. Many of us see that section, "Ask, and it shall be given," and transform it into a message of God answering prayer. Anytime we have a problem, we simply dial God up on the prayer hotline and He will give us what we ask. If we preach that message, it will earn "Amens" from our faithful corner. It will go over well with the audience. Though there is truth in the message that God answers prayer, we are not being faithful to the entire passage. We are changing God's inspired Word to fit our own message. In reality, God instructs us in Matthew 7 how to treat others. He declares that we should not judge. We are all sinners. We all have logs in our eyes. God is generous and, though we are not worthy, if we ask for forgiveness, he is faithful to forgive our trespasses. That is the true context of the Matthew 7:7 passage. Ask for forgiveness and it will be given. We are then to take God's example of forgiveness and extend it to others. We are to practice the Golden Rule (the conclusion of Matthew 7's message). May I say to you, though I believe our God is a prayer answering God, the actual Holy Spirit inspired message of Matthew 7:7 text is far more powerful than anything I can humanly impart upon the verse. When we stay true to the text, the passage provides all of the necessary components of the message. It is the text driven sermon that the Holy Spirit uses to call people to a decision. For this reason, the text must be our priority.- In CM102 “Invitation to Biblical Preaching,” Dr. Kent Edward covered a host of topics. He identified the challenges to biblical preaching. He also looked at theological, historical, pragmatic and personal reasons for preaching. He then revealed the marks of a biblical sermon. Lastly, he discussed the differences between topical preaching verses preaching through the Bible book-by-book. Herein is a brief survey of these topics. We live in an informational challenging age. The preacher is expected to demonstrate expertise in the Biblical text, along with culture, and church history. Unfortunately, a bit of a curse comes with knowledge. The greater the preacher’s intellect, the harder it is to communicate the message in an understandable way. There lies the gift of preaching/teaching. The preacher must learn to filter complex information and present it in an exciting and understandable way to the masses. The preacher must also meet tremendous congregational expectations. The audience not only wants the absolute best communicator, they expect enthusiasm and relevance. They desire an effective counselor, a person with strong family ties, and a best-selling author. Additionally, the pastor makes hospital visitations and conducts weddings and funerals. With all that spare time, the preacher must find a way to prepare three sermons per week and reach for something extra for youth night. A rational person would run in the opposite direction from God’s call. The challenges appear overwhelming and there is a little bit of Jonah in all of us. But, Nineva awaits. The preacher must preach. The preacher must preach because God exists and He is not silent. The call of God is the conviction to preach. The preacher will be restless attempting to do anything else. The Bible is God’s special revelation to all the “Nineva’s” in the world and they need to hear the message of salvation. Thus, the preacher preaches, explains, and applies the message to the listener’s situation. Our Jonah accepts the call because he has been commanded by a gracious God. The preacher is armed with a unique collection of books (66 of them). It is God’s written Word. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is absolutely perfect. It is inerrant and infallible. It is correct for all ages and true for all times. It is literally God-breathed and useful for teaching, correcting and training in righteousness. Thus, the preacher preaches because God exists, because God is not silent, because God is a communicator, and the nature of God’s Word is reliable and authoritative. He preaches God’s truth expositionally, entirely, and exactly. The preacher also preaches because there are historical reasons to do so. Every significant work of God has been accompanied by preaching. Destinies of nations have been altered by men in pulpits. From the enlightenment period, to the great American awakening, to every revival in between, the pulpit has always been a mighty force. Today’s preachers have the same Word of God; they unleash the same power. The Word of God never returns void. Preaching is how the Almighty transforms the world. Then there are pragmatic reasons for the preacher to preach. Person-to-person communication is the most effective form for transferring a message. If God so wanted, He could shout from heaven. But that is not His chosen method. Instead, He sent His Son. He did not use technology. He sent a preacher. He came face-to-face. This might explain why in 2005, over 1000 new converts said the number one reason they joined a church was to hear the preaching. In fact, 91% said the face-to-face preaching was the most important factor for church attendance. Thus, it is safe to say that preaching is the most effective way to communicate the divine truth of the Scriptures, by a person called of God, to give witness to the redemptive deeds of Jesus Christ. The preacher understands the original intent of the biblical authors. He does not read his own intentions into the text. He does not read the text and then insert his own message into it. Instead, he does exegesis. The preacher says only what the Bible says and that alone becomes the foundation of his Biblical sermon. He states the author’s propositions, arguments, and illustrations and applies it to the current needs of the church. In fact, he takes that one meaning and applies it in many places. Though the meaning of the text is fixed with the author, its significance is adaptable to any situation and time. The Holy Spirit then uses that text to call people to a decision. To conclude the course, Dr. Edwards gave seven pragmatic reasons for preaching through the books of the Bible (instead of topical preaching): 1. The preacher is not that smart – Preaching through the books removes the pressure of deciding what to preach; 2. The preacher is not that holy – The people should not reflect the image of the preacher; rather, they should be imagers of Jesus Christ. God wrote the Bible. By preaching the books, the preacher expounds God’s ideas rather than the preacher’s; 3. The preacher is busy – Topical preaching done correctly requires an inordinate amount of time; 4. The books allow for balanced preaching – There is tension and balance in the Bible. For example, we should pray while relying on God’s sovereignty. Salvation is God’s foreknowledge, yet we choose salvation. Believers are called to suffer, yet we are blessed. Preaching the books preserves such tensions; 5. The books allow the preacher creativity – The Bible is a buffet of genres (narratives, epistles, poetic, apocalyptic, etc.) As the preacher moves through the books, God changes what is on the menu. This keeps things interesting for the listeners; 6. The preacher will one day give an account – By preaching the Bible (instead of topics), the preacher covers everything (even those things that are uncomfortable). In that manner, the preacher does not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God; 7. The Bible keeps the preaching biblical – The goal of the Bible is to personally know God and to learn how to correctly live in response to Him. To meet that goal, the books of the Bible must be presented in their entirety. The 21st Century presents many challenges to biblical preaching; however, God is up to the task. God uses pulpits to change the world. He calls preachers who look at theological, historical, pragmatic and personal reasons for preaching. He calls them to preach the original intent of the text. And, by preaching through the books of the Bible, the Holy Spirit leads the people to moments of decision. That is the essence of revival. And, that is the life of a preacher.