This is a great reminder for all pastors/preachers/teachers from my friend, Pastor Chris Williamson. He posted this on Facebook today:
To be God’s preacher, you must preach the whole counsel of God’s Word and not just the parts that align with your personal comfort zones. You don’t bend the Scriptures; the Scriptures bend you. You must preach whether you are applauded or rejected because both will occur.
If you preach the text right, at times you will be considered “too conservative” for liberals and “too liberal” for conservatives, but none of this moves you. You will make friends and enemies. Some of your hearers will repent, whereas others will rebel. As you preach the interests of the kingdom of God, you will not be able to fully align with any political party or platform. Your greatest concern is honoring the Lamb and not placating to donkeys or elephants.
Being biblically prophetic will cause you to be countercultural. You will not be afraid to speak truth to power, nor will you be ashamed to sit among the destitute and speak on their behalf. The text, when studied within its historical and grammatical context, determines your sermon’s subject and not a flashy title.
You preach for the glory of God and not your own. Your lifestyle is consistent with the words you preach. You are under proper authority and accountability. You don’t hinder the “Great Commission” from going forth because of your “personal commission” or fee. The time that you stand before people in public does not compare to the time that you kneel before God in private. Like Jesus, you desire to be full of grace and truth, and not one over the other.
God will wake you up in the middle of the night with a quick word or He will labor with you in the day for hours to get a word. Sometimes you will feel inadequate before preaching. Other times you will feel God’s fire erupting in your heart and you cannot wait to preach! While you are preaching, you will feel God’s “help coming,” and when you are finished preaching you will feel Him gently restore your soul and calm your fears.
To be God’s preacher, you will have a heart of flesh and a forehead like flint. You are humble and bold. You love God and you love His people. You are dependent on the Spirit, and you rely more upon the authority of Scripture than upon your ability to preach it.
