Bible preaching is one of the many supernatural tools God uses to “stablish” your life:
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” Romans 16:25–27
Last week, we covered some of the most formative verses in my life, primarily the phrase “Preach the WORD” from 2 Timothy 4:2. I can’t fully convey how important these words are to me, but today it’s your turn.
While the preacher has his duties (as detailed in this series and the last), the church members have their duties, too.
I’m not sure which thing Paul fought harder: false teachers or selfish members.
Sure, the false teachers were the ones promoting the selfishness (greed, immorality, “secret truths,” elitism, etc.), but the selfish members were the ones who were buying their lies.
I use the term selfish intentionally, because at the root of every sin is ME. I want to be pleased. I want my way. I want comfort. I want pleasure.
And I suppose that one of the primary ways God confronts that selfishness is through the preaching of His Word.
So you have to hear it. That’s kind of how preaching works! You gather to hear it. But hearing is not enough…
You also have to believe it. At the root of preaching is a belief in God, and a belief that the Bible is a message from Him. If that’s true…
You must obey it. Whatever the Bible says, we believe it and obey it. Whether we’re feeling it or not, we obey.
Obedience looks like a lot of things to a lot of people, but according to God, there would come a time when people would want to redefine the Bible to suit their own needs.
Have you every done that?
Words have meanings, and words are important. If you’re mad at leftists for redefining words like violence, men, and women, then make sure you’re consistent with your own definitions of words like witchcraft, assembly, separation, church, preaching, fornication, holiness, and other Bible words.
Words have real-life implications, and Bible preaching will not only expose your mind to God’s ideas, but will also call your heart to bend to His will. That’s always going to be beneficial to you, even if it limits what you love.
Your flesh will love anything but the truth.
Trust the Spirit and the Scriptures instead. I’m glad you’re here this morning, and we’ll see you tonight for some more good, Bible preaching!
–Pastor Ryan