PREACHING: GOD's WATERING METHOD FOR THIRSTY SOIL.
Romans 10 v14
"And how shall they hear without a preacher?"
(5 convictions of an evangelical ... 3)
August 2nd, 2009.
When was the last time you got caught in the rain without a coat or umbrella and so got wet; can you remember? How did you feel about rain at that moment?
The last time I got caught in a heavy shower of rain was on June 23rd on my way over to the hall, with papers in my hand, for the Board of Management meeting -- I remember it well. Was I grateful for the rainfall at that point? Well, not as grateful as if it had fallen when I was safely inside the building.
Now you know and I know just how essential rain is to life on this planet at any time but how much more we need it to keep on falling due to the drought. Nevertheless, my selfish, shortsighted, at times, ungrateful attitude about rain isn't confined to me: I think many of us would have to tick the same box to admit that we're not always as grateful as we should be for it.
Isaiah has an important reminder for us both about the importance of rain for the soil of the earth and what rain should make us think of as it falls:
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." [Isaiah 55 v10-11]
Rain falling from heaven should cause us to thank God for His Provisions for life here on earth and remind us of the vital importance of God's Word being Spoken in the world: just as rain is essential, essential for soil to be replenished if life is to continue on earth, so it is vital, vital that God's Word be preached in the world if the soil of mens' hearts is to be softened, if sinners are to be born again and saints are to be built up in their most holy faith!
Today, in the question "and how shall they hear without a preacher?" we find at least three diamond-facets of Truth to gaze upon.
(1) God's favoured means of communication -- preaching
-- "and how shall they hear without a preacher (someone preaching).
This is our third conviction, that preaching is a vital Means of Grace God Uses to communicate His Truth to people: It's the watering-method He has Chosen with which to water the parched soil of the soul.
The philosopher desires complicated theory to state his message, the religionist wants ritual and ceremony by which to advance the claims of his system, but God Chooses the simplicity of preaching by which to Communicate.
What is preaching? Preaching is to proclaim, herald, announce God's Word, person to person, in a language that's easily understandable by the listener. It also involves an element of personal witness by the speaker, and includes an element seeking to persuade the hearer to submit to it.
(2) a challenge to take the Word to the world
-- "and how shall they hear without a preacher?"
Last week, I reminded us of Jesus repeated Commission to His followers to go from Jerusalem to the end of the earth, declaring the Good News to every creature.
The doors of our church should be open for us to go out and seek others rather than with us expecting that people will automatically flock into them and seek us.
(3) a warning for us not to take hearing the Word for granted
-- "how shall they hear without a preacher?"
If it is true that not hearing means not being able to truly call and that this means remaining on unfriendly terms with God, then to truly hear the Word is a priceless privilege! Since we have heard we should be overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity to hear and desire to keep on hearing.
As we come to the Lord's Table, it's God's Word which explains what the significance of the Table is and how we should understand it.