The Sacrifice of Preaching

– by Stephen Manley –

 

Following an evening revival service, a woman from the congregation shook my hand and made this statement.  “I want to thank you for the sacrifice OF preaching!”  What was she saying?  She may have been expressing her gratitude for the time I spent in sermon preparation, my life on the road or my separation from family.  But that was not what I heard.

 

I had been having difficulty with Hebrews chapter four, and her words brought clarification to my struggle.  In the first eleven verses of the chapter, the author clearly identifies the “rest” provided for the people of God.  He boldly proclaims its existence as well as its experience.  He defines it by saying, For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His (Hebrews 4:10).  Resting in Christ is defined as ceasing from works of creation.  I am no longer to be the source of what is produced!  Even the goodness in my life must not be sourced by me.

 

My difficulty with this chapter was how these verses (Hebrews 4:1-11) were linked with the verses completing the chapter (verses 12-16).  He begins this last section with these words.  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).  It seemed both sections of this chapter were clear, but I could not see how they were connected.  The author began discussing the subject of “resting in Christ,” now he speaks of “the Word of God.”  It is like two different subjects without any connection. The phrase “sacrifice of preaching” forms the bridge which brings them together.

 

It is the picture of a special room which is free of contamination.  There is a bed in the middle of the room for you to rest upon.  This room is a well lighted surgical room with people anxious to serve you.  You will be well taken care of and you are invited to lie on the bed and rest.  Now picture the Word of God as the surgical bed upon which you are to rest.  It is here that the knife of the Living Word begins to cut, not to destroy but to heal.

 

This is the proper picture of preaching.  As a preacher, I come to His Word without resistance or hesitation.  I crawl up on His Word allowing Him to cut, expose, and change my life. Hurting and somewhat bleeding, I crawl to the sacrifice altar of the pulpit to expose to my congregation where the Word of God has been cutting me.  They are drawn into the surgical procedure I have been experiencing. I then crawl back to my study to heal for a couple of days, only to get back on the surgical table of the Word of God and do it all over again.

 

Biblical preaching is not a preacher skilled in using the surgical blade of the Word of God upon his people.  It is a man who is willing to expose his entire being to the Word, both Living and Written, with courage enough to reveal it to the people he loves.  It is the “sacrifice OF preaching.”  Any other attempt at preaching falls far short of anything defined as preaching.  We do not handle the Word of God; rather it handles us.  We do not study the Word of God; rather it studies us.  We do not preach the Word of God; rather it declares itself through us.

 

Are we guilty of hiding behind the “styles of preaching” and miss the “essence of preaching?”  We speak of types of preaching such as: narrative, topical, textual, or expositional. What ever our style of preaching, should there not be present the fundamental essence of the surgical Word of God doing His work?  If this is lacking, how can we call it preaching? The very nature of preaching requires exposing of the Written Word.  There is no preaching without the “sacrifice OF preaching!”

 

Far too often preaching is sourced from the reservoir of the preacher.  He is educated and has developed his skills.  All of this knowledge and development goes into his reservoir of information. Continuing education, further research and the emphasis of his culture all add to his reservoir.  His theology and life experiences have developed his insights.  None of this is evil or should be rejected.

 

However, this must not be the source of preaching.  To preach from my reservoir of information is to limit the effect to what I know.  Should I not come to the Word of God?  My reservoir  is not the source which is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12)?  I must not use my reservoir to develop a sermon and then search the Bible to back it up or find a text to support it.  I must come to the Word of God and allow the sermon to flow from the source of the surgical work of that Word in my life.  I can then go to my reservoir for application and illustration.

 

To think that what I have produced from my own information and knowledge is more effective than what God is saying is the height of arrogance and pride.  Cute stories and communication skills have never gone to the heart of man and brought redemptive change.  The very soul of preaching is the exposure of the Written Word in the power of the Living Word through the preacher’s surgical experience.

 

There are three essential ingredients which interact to create preaching.  These are the Written Word, the Living Word and the preacher.  The Bible is known as the Written Word.  By itself it is simply literature or an academic study.  The Living Word is Jesus Christ, and He must be present, bringing life to the Written Word.  When you read the Scriptures, it is as if Jesus is there; He is speaking those words to you!  The writers of the New Testament stated that God spoke these words as they quoted the Old Testament Scriptures (Hebrews 1:5-13; Acts 1:16, 20; 4:24-26).  The preacher is the one who places his life in the center of the interaction of the Living Word and the Written Word.  When the surgery takes place the preacher’s life is changed.  In that change he can now reveal the Word of God to his people.  What a privilege to be a preacher! •