The Necessity of Relevant Truth in Preaching

The Axiom of Relevant Truth in Preaching

0:01 Now, once again, brethren, we address the comprehensive subject of the essential elements of effective pastoral preaching. And as we do, let me underscore at the outset what I mean by the term effective preaching. William Taylor, in his first-rate book entitled The Ministry of the Word, put it this way on page 107. That is, effective preaching which convinces the intellect, stirs the heart, quickens the conscience of the hearer, so that he is moved to believe the truth which has been presented to him, or to take the course which has been enforced upon him.

0:47 And if your preaching under God convinces the intellect, stirs the heart, quickens the conscience of your hearers, so that they are moved to believe the truth, or to take the to believe the truth presented, and obey the duties enforced, that is effective preaching. It may be elegant. It may be lacking in elegance. It may be eloquent.

1:10 It may not be eloquent. But whatever else it is, it is effective preaching if it accomplishes that. And whatever else it may be, if it doesn't accomplish that, it is not effective preaching. Now, in this unit of our course in pastoral theology, we're concerned.

1:27 We're concerned with those elements which pertain to the sermon or the message in its content and form. And as I indicated last week, there will be two major divisions of the material. We will look at some general axioms pertaining to all kinds of sermons, and then some specific guidelines for the various species of sermons. Last week, we took up the first axiom.

1:54 I expressed it this way. The proclamation. Expression. Explanation and application of scriptural truth must constitute the heart and soul of all preaching.

2:06 Now, this morning, we'll consider the second axiom applicable to all kinds of sermons, and I'm putting it this way. The proclamation, explanation, and application, and you may want to use your own homemade shorthand for P-R-E-X and A-P, because that's going to be at the beginning of all of the axioms. The proclamation, explanation, and application of the scriptural truths most needed by our regular hearers must constitute our constant goal.

2:46 The proclamation, explanation, and application of the scriptural truths most needed by our regular hearers must constitute our constant goal. Now, the significance. The significant words in the axiom are these. The truths most needed.

3:11 And there may be a world of difference between the scriptural truths most needed by your people and the truths that they most desire to hear.

3:24 There may be a great discrepancy between the truths they most need and the truths they think they need. So, not only a difference between the truth they need and what they desire, but a difference between the truth they need and what they think they need. And the proclamation of such scriptural truths must constitute our constant goal. In other words, we must always be aiming at bringing forth those scriptural truths most needed while acknowledging that we never perfectly attain that goal.

4:04 And therefore, in the axiom, I've tried to explain that. I've tried to explain that. I've tried to express it by the words, this must constitute our constant goal. Now, in addressing this axiom, I have three major divisions today.

Biblical Roots: Christ's Prophetic Office

4:17 First of all, we'll look at the biblical basis or the biblical roots of this axiom. And then, having done that, we'll then move on into the more practical concerns and consider the major principle with reference to wise sermon selection and then some discussion. general guidelines. But first of all, then, the biblical basis or the biblical roots of this axiom. In order to see and feel the pressure of this axiom, there are three categories of

4:50 scriptural data which we must seriously consider. First of all, and we have large letter ABC under the biblical roots of the axiom. A, the nature of preaching in relationship to the prophetic office of Christ. The nature of preaching in relationship to the prophetic office of Christ.

5:16 One of the truths of scripture which I trust all of you will hold dear before you leave this place is that of the reality of the special presence of Christ in the gatherings of his people. It's a truth you get in systematics in your doctrine of the church. It's a truth that you hear from the pulpit. It's one that permeates.

5:38 the prayers, and it's one of those things that I trust will be a precious, permanent deposit of truth in your heart and in your mind before ever you leave this place. I was at least probably 20 years as a Christian before I even began to be aware of the truth to any degree whatsoever. A terrible thing, terrible thing, but that's reality. And growing out of that glorious truth of the special presence of Christ in the gatherings of his people is the fact that when he is present

6:17 in that special way, he is present and exercising all of his offices as prophet, priest, and king of his church. Now, he does that by...

6:33 By his word and spirit through the means appointed and ordained by him.

6:43 Now, the clue as to how he fulfills his prophetic office in the church is to be found in such words as are given to us in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of the Revelation. You remember the imagery, John saw the exalted Lord in the midst of the land stands, and then that exalted Lord began to say, begins to speak, and he says, what you see, write, and send it to the seven churches. And then the exalted Lord in the midst of the seven land stands speaks to the churches saying, I know your works, and then he gives commendation, rebuke, direction, and then concludes each message

7:26 with this statement. All seven letters to all seven churches, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying. To the churches. So the Spirit is speaking the mind of Christ to the churches. Christ is in the

7:44 midst of the churches inspecting, evaluating, criticizing, commending, encouraging, and he is conveying his mind and his heart by the ministry of the Spirit who is framing the words that John is penning and are being sent to the churches. And in that spirit, he is conveying the mind of Christ to the churches. And he is conveying the In that whole context, we find specific, pointed, tailor-made rebukes, consolations, and directions, as well as general, sweeping, universal truths and principles. That's why some of the terms are used in all of the churches. I know your works, promises to the overcomers, the appeal

8:28 that he that hath an ear, let him hear. So the clue, then, to how Christ exercises his prophetic ministry is found in such passages as Revelation 2 and 3. Furthermore, we see it as exercised in the apostolic writings. When Paul, as an apostle, writes to correct aberrations in the worship of the church at Corinth, he reminds them in chapter 14 and verse 37 that the things that he writes and speaks are the very commandments of the Lord.

9:05 If any man seems to be spiritual or a prophet, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. He's saying to the churches, your Lord is exercising his prophetic ministry through the apostolic pen. But to change the imagery and also to get another reference point as to how Christ exercises his prophetic ministry, we need to turn to such passages as Ephesians 5. We need to turn to such passages as Ephesians 5. We need to turn to such

9:37 passages as Ephesians 5, in which Christ is said to nurture and cherish his church. And there, of course, it's in the parallel between the role and function of a husband in relationship to his wife and Christ to his church. Well, as a sensitive, loving husband discerns the needs of his wife and of his bride and ministers appropriate consolation, rebuke, and guidance, so Christ is said to nurture and cherish his church. And there, of course, it's in the parallel Christ nourishes and cherishes his church as a sensitive, loving husband does his wife or ought

10:16 to. And the husband's role, of course, takes its clue from the great reality of the Lord's role and function. Also in that passage, you have the imagery of a man who does not abuse his own flesh, but he nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church. So that, when we come to this whole concern of proclaiming scriptural truths most needed by our regular hearers, we must do so from the posture of understanding that preaching has a direct

10:54 relationship to the prophetic office of Christ. Well, how does Christ exercise that prophetic office as revealed in the scriptures subsequent to his ascension to the right hand of his Father? Well, he exercises it, as we see in Revelation 2 and 3, as the chief inspector of the church who then speaks and his word comes to the churches. He exercises it in the language of 1 Corinthians 14.37 through apostolic directive. He exercises it as a loving husband

11:30 nourishing and cherishing his wife. Now, if that is how Christ exercises his prophetic office, then you see how essential it is that as we view the subject of pastoral preaching, we be deeply concerned to proclaim, explain, and apply the scriptural truths most needed by our regular hearers. Because it's only as we do that that the prophetic ministry of Christ, if I may say it reverently, is having its proper expression in our assembly. That's the key.

12:09 Christ is continuing to walk in the midst of the lampstands. He continues with eyes as a flame of fire to search out his people and to say, I know your works. He continues to be moved to rebuke and reproof and encouragement and directive. He does not cease to be the exalted Lord in the midst of the lampstands because he is no longer giving direct revelation to an apostle concerning that reality.

12:39 That reality is embodied in those opening chapters of revelation. Well, then, how in the world, in the present epoch of redemptive history, in the present framework of no direct revelation, how does he exercise that prophetic office? Well, he exercises it as the servants of Christ are bringing to bear those scriptural truths most needed. By their regular hearers. So that, in that sense, there is always a prophetic element

13:18 in our preaching. It is addressed to the existential situation. And to state it very bluntly, if you could pack up and take all of the sermons preached in Congregation A in a given order over the course of ten years, and start out in Congregation B with the same sermons in the same order, and start out in Congregation B with the same sermons in the same order, and start out in Congregation B with the same sermons in the same order, there is no question in my mind that such an approach is one that fails to recognize this dimension of the prophetic office of Christ being exercised in a framework in which

13:57 there must be sensitivity to the scriptural truths most needed at any given point in the life of any given congregation. Yes, there are some general sweeping universals. You find them in the New Testament, in the New Testament, in the New Testament, in the New that in the seven letters to the seven churches. He says to all of them, I know your works. He says

14:17 to all of them, he that overcomes. He says to all of them, he that hath an ear, let him hear. So there are certain generals and universals that one can and must preach in any situation under any circumstance. But then there are also tailor-made, pointed, specific applications of truth that differ from one situation to another. So some appreciation

Biblical Roots: The Pastoral Office and Biblical Pattern

14:42 then for the nature of the preaching, the nature of preaching in relationship to the prophetic office of Christ will make us deeply concerned about the issue of bringing the scriptural truths most needed by our hearers into the arena of their awareness. But then secondly, the implications of the pastoral office. Demand this. The implications of the pastoral office. If we are preaching as shepherds,

15:17 then a sensitivity to the state of the flock is essential. Now we are preaching as shepherds. Acts 20.28. Take heed to the flock in the which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers or bishops

15:30 to shepherd the flock of God. And here I let my mind do a little, I hope, sanctified ruminating on how ridiculous. It would be if we took the 23rd Psalm and think of their celebration of David, of Jehovah as his shepherd. What kind of shepherd is it that when the sheep needs to lie down by quiet waters,

15:56 he's running around with a club in his hand as though some wolf were attacking them. And the sheep looks up at the shepherd and says, what in the world are you doing? Going around like a madman beating at the air with your rod. They know wolves around here. When there's a pack of wolves circling

16:14 the flock. And the sheep sees the shepherd with the rod and going after them. If the sheep could think, he'd say, thank God for such a shepherd. I feel safe. Go get him. Sick him. Beat him on the head.

16:25 Beat him on the butt. Get the wolves away from here. But when the sheep's lying down by waters of quietness and there ain't no wolves around and the shepherd's all in the frenzy with a rod, the poor sheep would say, what's happened to the shepherd? What's the problem? Well, you see,

16:40 you carry that through the 23rd Psalm and you see how ludicrous it is. This is where many people lose confidence in their shepherd. They have enough sense to know that certain emphases are totally inappropriate for the present state of the flock. And somehow the servant of Christ is out of touch with those to whom he's ministering. So if preaching is the exercise of a shepherding role, then it needs to be sensitive

17:07 to the present state of the flock. If we preach as fathers among the family of God, then awareness of the condition of the flock is a must. And if we preach as fathers among the family of God, then the household is vital. And isn't that the imagery that Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 2.11? He says,

17:23 we were as a father among his children, encouraging, admonishing, etc. And isn't that what an elder's supposed to do? According to 1 Timothy 3.5, if a man knows not how to rule well his own house, how shall he epimelomite? How shall he take care of the church of God? And that take care is the

17:43 word used in Luke chapter 10, 34. And 35 in the parable of the Good Samaritan. I will take care of him. And then he commends him to the innkeeper and says, take care of him. Be sensitive to his present needs and render

17:59 appropriate consideration, care, nursing, whatever else it is. So if we preach as shepherds, then we must be sensitive to the state of the flock. If we're preaching as fathers, there must be an awareness of the condition of the household. If we're preaching as governors, and that's one of our titles, then the condition of the commonwealth is important. Obey them that have the rule of a

18:24 government over you. Remember them who spoke unto you the word of God, men who were over you. Hebrews 13.7, Hebrews 13.17. In short, all that we are as those occupying our office as teaching

18:41 elders, to use the term most commonly associated with our office, demands this axiom that we proclaim, explain, and apply the scriptural truths most needed by our regular hearers, and that must be our constant goal. But then thirdly, the axiom has its biblical roots in what I'm calling the pattern of biblical preaching. So you have its roots in the nature of preaching in relationship to the prophetic office of Christ, the implications of the pastoral office, and the pattern of biblical preaching.

19:19 Recorded sermons of the Old and the New Testament, as we see pastoral concern coming to expression in the epistles of the New Testament, this principle is dominant. The preachers and writers address themselves to truths most needed by their hearers. Isaiah's message would not have been appropriate in the situation in which Jeremiah preached, and vice versa. The Corinthian letter would not have been appropriate in the situation in which Isaiah preached, and vice versa.

19:51 would not have been suitable to the Thessalonican or the Thessalonian congregation. Now again, there are some universals, there are some general truths, and while we qualify that we are presently under a qualitatively different mode of the Spirit's operation and influence, we are not direct organs of revelation, as were the apostles, and while we unashamedly acknowledge we do not possess the unique authority of apostles or prophets, still there is an underlying principle found in the prophets, our Lord, and the apostles,

20:32 and even though we have all of their utterances that God intended us to have gathered up in the canonical writings, those writings teach us a doctrine of pastoral sensitivity.

20:46 You find this in the pattern of our Lord's preaching, you find it again and again in the apostles. Obviously, Paul must have had before him some kind of a sketchy outline of the various problems that he had become aware of in the church at Corinth, and he takes them up seriatim, now concerning, now concerning, now concerning, now concerning, and likewise all the way through the epistles, and even in those that are not addressed to some burning, pressing pastoral corrective, such that they are not addressed to some burning, pressing pastoral corrective, such as the epistle to the Romans, there are some pastoral concerns, there is a more general missionary concern,

21:28 but nonetheless those concerns, though perhaps not as critical, shape the content and form and sometimes even the structure of the letter. Now I say then, the pattern of biblical preaching demands that we have as our constant goal the setting forth of the scriptural truths most of all, most needed by our hearers. Now surely, brethren, the threefold witness cannot easily be pushed aside. The nature of preaching in relationship to the prophetic office of Christ, the implications of the pastoral office, and the pattern of biblical preaching all point in the direction of our axiom

The Fundamental Principle: Divine-Human Interplay

22:11 that the proclamation, explanation, and application of the biblical truths most needed by our people must constitute, our constant goal. Now, having set before you the axiom and its biblical roots, now let me, Roman numeral number two, set before you the fundamental biblical principle operative in a wise selection of sermonic materials.

22:41 The, underline the article, the fundamental principle operative in a wise selection of sermonic materials.

22:52 Now, you've heard this principle before, no doubt, but you'll hear it again. And it is the principle that there is a constant and delicate interplay of the natural and the supernatural in every facet of the work of God. The divine and the human, the mundane, the super mundane, the rational and the mystical are constantly impinging upon one another in every facet of the work of the ministry. And that principle, is the fundamental principle operative in a wise selection of sermonic materials.

23:32 The key texts which set forth that principle are Philippians 2, 12 and 13. As you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Work out, God is working in. The confluence of the divine and the human, of the rational, the volitional, and the purely biblical, mystical and supra-rational.

24:09 How does God work in me to will and to work? At what point does his working register in my consciousness? Who wants to sort that out? I don't.

24:21 But it says it's true. And the very reality of his in-work is that he works in you. Working is to be the incentive for the full engagement of all of my faculties in my working. Not a call to negate nor suspend them, but to engage them.

24:36 Work out with fear and trembling, for God is at work in. And Philippians 4, 13. I can do all things. I do them.

24:47 And I can do them. But it is through him who strengthens me. And then 1 Timothy 2, 7. Think on these things.

24:57 And the Lord give you understanding in all things. I love those three texts. Use your noggin. Think on these things.

25:08 Timothy, does the meaning elude you at first reading? Then turn up the loins of your mind. Gather up all your mental faculties and think hard and long on what I've said. And as your thinking and light comes, it's the Lord giving you understanding.

25:22 Not apart from your thinking, but in the midst of it. But don't go around and put wreaths on your brain when you've had insight. It's the Lord that gave you understanding. Now, this fact alone should make us scared to death of ironclad rules and any method or set of guidelines which does not leave full room for the highest expression of spiritual dynamics coupled with the most intense application of practical concerns and activities.

25:53 So, any approach to the selection of sermonic material that doesn't give full range to the spiritual dynamics that doesn't give full range to the spiritual dynamics that doesn't give full range to the spiritual dynamics that doesn't give full range to the spiritual dynamics for spiritual dynamics and practical common sense and volitional and intellectual exercises, something's wrong with it. Run from it. It's going to land you in big, bad trouble.

26:13 And I've read stuff that's on both ends of the spectrum and precious little that to me holds to the extremes of both revealed truths with both hands and with equal tenacity and works its way through this difficult and agitated question of how to do it. And I think it's a good question. How do I know what to preach while recognizing this fundamental principle that is operative in a wise selection of sermonic materials? Now, in both the natural and the supernatural, there is an almost infinite measure of variation in both the natural and the supernatural.

26:52 In the natural, there is our temperament, the way God put our mental furniture together, some who have a more logical, icy mind, and some who have a more logical mind. Some who have a more logical mind, some who have a more logical mind, some who have a more logical mind, and some who have a more soft, poetic, almost feminine mind, we may say. And God made us that way. And all of that comes to play when we get down and start working on the question, what shall I preach to my people?

27:17 As well as, how shall I preach? All that's operative when I consider how, but also what. And then likewise, the full range in the spiritual, there is the absolute sovereignty of God. The wind blows where it wills.

27:31 God is utterly free in the exercises of His own grace and power and the dynamics of the Spirit's ministry upon our hearts and minds at every point in His working in us and through us. There is our present growth and insight and our dealings with God and God's dealings with us. All of that goes into the pot when you sit down to work on the question, what shall I preach to my people? So in the light of that, brethren, beware of the ironclad rules makers.

Warnings Against Extremes in Sermon Selection

28:04 There are those who say anyone who does not start consecutive, verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph, expository preaching, and go clean through the Bible in 20 years, has no business being in a Christian pulpit. I've read things that almost absolutize in that in a way that is frightening. And then there are others on the other end of the spectrum, Spurgeon, one of them, who would abominate the thought of setting down on any course of serpents. And as you read his chapter this week, I hope you come away from it saying, well, God bless Spurgeon.

28:43 But Lord, deliver me from the tyranny of taking his counsel on how to select a text. As we'll see in a little bit when he talks about waiting, if necessary, until one hour before the sermon for that elect word to drop down from heaven.

29:00 So beware, brethren, of the ironclad rules makers. And here we do well to listen to Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, page 188. He's taking up the question, what am I going to do? Shall I preach an odd text?

29:20 Shall I preach a series, etc.? Preachers have often held strong views on this. And it's a very interesting thing and a very important question.

29:29 One of the greatest preachers of the last century, if not the greatest of all. And whenever I read that, I say that shows what I call English preachers speaking Western chauvinism. I always read into this one of the best-known preachers in the English-speaking world of the last century. Who knows what kind of preachers may have been loose in the woods in some jungle somewhere to make the rest all of us look like pygmies.

29:56 So don't ever talk that way. I'll always correct you if you don't mind that. If I can pull rank in years and seniority, I'll always correct you. What he should have said is one of the best-known and greatest preachers in the English...

30:08 English-speaking world of the last century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, took a very strong line on this. He did not believe in preaching a series of sermons. Indeed, he opposed doing so very strongly. He said there was a sense in which it was impertinent for a man to decide to preach a series of sermons.

30:26 He held the text should be given to the preacher. And you'll see that that's no false accusation when you do your assigned reading next week. That he should seek the Lord in this matter and ask for guidance. He held that the preacher should not decide but pray, pray for the guidance and the leading of the spirit and then submit himself to this.

30:43 He will thus be led to particular texts and statements which he will then expound in sermonic form. That was the view held by Spurgeon and many others. The doctor says I was myself brought up in a tradition which adhered to that view. We never heard a series of sermons based on a book or part of a book of the Bible or on a theme.

31:02 But over against that you had the position of the Puritans who were clearly great believers in preaching series of sermons. It's interesting to note in passing that though Spurgeon was such a great reader of the Puritans and a great admirer of them at this point he disagreed with them entirely. What then does one say about this? All I can say is it seems to me to be quite wrong to be rigid in this matter and lay down any hard and fast rule.

31:30 I cannot see why the spirit should not guide a man to preach a sermon series of sermons on a passage or a book of the Bible as well as to lead into one text only. Why not? What is important and here I am with Spurgeon wholeheartedly is that we must preserve and safeguard the freedom of the spirit. We must not ultimately be in control in the matter.

31:52 We must not decide in cold blood as it were what we're going to do map out a program and so on. I'm sure that this is wrong. I've known men who've done that. I've known men who at the beginning of a season after a vacation would actually hand out a list of their texts for many months ahead and would indicate what was going to be preached every particular Sunday during that period of time.

32:14 I reprobate that entirely and completely. I'm not saying I dare not presume that's impossible. Under the freedom of the spirit it's not impossible because the wind blows where it listed. We must not say that the spirit will always and must always work in one particular way.

32:31 But speaking generally I feel that to plan and publish such a program is surely to put certain limits upon the sovereignty and the leading of the spirit in this matter. So having asserted that we're subject to the spirit and that we must be careful to make sure that we are really subject to him I argue that he may lead us at one time to preach on odd texts and at another time to preach a series of sermons. I would humbly claim that I have known this many times in my own experience. So my first warning under the fundamental principle operative and a wise selection of sermonic materials is beware of iron-clad rule-makers.

33:13 Secondly, beware of a legalistic inflexibility with your own plan.

33:22 Beware of the iron-clad rule-makers that is someone else's plan but then beware of a legalistic inflexibility with your own plan.

33:37 You can get locked into a general pattern of discerning what you believe to be the mind of God in selecting appropriate sermonic material for your people and become captive to your own plan. And Lloyd-Jones has an excellent warning against that on pages 190 and 191. And then thirdly, beware of copying others.

34:02 Each man will have his own tailor-made scheme in determining the mind of God in preaching. It may embody principles learned from others. At certain points it may closely parallel others. But that is beware of copying others.

34:20 You are Christ's free man.

34:24 And then my fourth warning is beware of the two great dangers in this area. And I wish someone had told me this before I ever went into the ministry would have saved me hours and hours of fruitless spiritual and mental agony. And the two great dangers are on the one hand enthusiasm and I'm using it in the old classic sense and rationalism on the other. And by enthusiasm what do I mean?

34:51 Well, I mean either a patent or a de facto expectation of direct revelation.

35:04 A direct revelation that will come by means of strong subjective impressions.

35:12 Now, let me show you how self-defeating this can be. Usually the person open to this is one of a more poetic, sensitive temperament. All right? Now, with that expectation then as he prays Lord, lay constraint upon my heart.

35:29 Lord, impress me with what the people need. And then is he where he holds up his spirit waiting for some impression. At the same time that sensitive spirit is one that fears to disobey God. It fears to violate what it regards to be the will of God.

35:47 So then guilt follows. Is that impression really the impression of God or is it a motion of my own inclination? Am I now coming before God's people with God's word or have I clouded the whole world the whole issue by some undiscovered motion of my own remaining sin? And you talk about agony.

36:09 I know what it is literally, brethren, to go into a place to pray at one o'clock in the afternoon and come out at four or five in the afternoon still totally uncertain as to what I ought to preach that night when I was used to be in the itinerant ministry and spinning my wheels for three or four hours at a stretch waiting for that impress that I could be certain was of God humming over text after text going over notes of old sermons and because there was not by whose standard I don't know but somehow at any given point I had some standard by which I was to know that the impression was of God until one day I got mad and I took a couple of texts that said

36:53 God is not the author of confusion but of peace. We have the mind of Christ and I got mad and I said this is not of God. This mental confusion this wasting of time I'm not praying for God to bless the word because I don't know what word I should bring instead I'm agonizing what should I bring I'm not studying to bring it more accurately I'm not praying for God's blessing upon it this is wasted spiritual time or spiritual exercise and I got angry and I said this has got to stop and with what little light I had I think I did everything from rebuke the devil to I don't remember all the details but I said this has got to stop this is not of God and I began to realize that I was really

37:38 in the realm of enthusiasm waiting for a de facto direct revelation which in turn led me to a crippling subjectivism. Now that's a very real danger I know from experience that's not theoretical but on the other end of the spectrum there's the danger of a rationalism in which the concept of specific guidance is taught totally ruled out and there is a world of difference between a de facto expectation of direct revelation and a confident expectation of specific guidance trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not upon your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths

38:23 that's specific guidance without direct revelation but it is nonetheless specific guidance and we need to beware in running away from enthusiasm that we do not end up in a total rationalism in which there is no sensitivity to the present state of our own hearts in which there is no awareness of God's dealings with us in our own devotional life and in our own reading of the scriptures it's all coldly calculatingly mapped out in a rationalistic way brethren we need to be kept from both of those extremes now I personally believe that Spurgeon erred on the side of God of something that in most men

39:07 one could only call enthusiasm now I do not judge the Lord's servant who am I to even question his method for him but when he writes as he does about waiting waiting let me give you his words on page 85 of lectures to my students wait for that elect word even if you wait till within an hour of the service this may not be understood by cool calculating men but it is who are not moved by impulses as we are but to some of us these things are a law in our hearts against which we dare not offend we tarry at Jerusalem till power is given and he takes that text to say we tarry waiting

39:52 until our text is given now I say brethren as far as I'm concerned that's the language of enthusiasm though I am not saying Spurgeon was an enthusiast in his own experience I rather think it's the excess of his own rhetoric that carries him beyond what really went on in his mind and heart love believes all things love hopes all things love puts the best construction on things so I put that construction on Spurgeon's experience but as far as his words are concerned follow them and you be an enthusiast in the wrong sense of the word I believe Dr. Lloyd-Jones borders on that when he says this it's a wonderful and glorious experience apart from anything else and I would not dare disobey what I regard

40:37 as a wonderful experience there is a very definite injunction concerning that matter that is an injunction he had from God to preach a certain series I'm quite confident that the preaching of that series of sermons was dictated to me by the spirit himself end quote page 190 of Preaching and Preachers brethren that's the language of enthusiasm now I'm not saying the doctor was an enthusiast and I want to give all due regard but don't take that kind of counsel because that will lead you into enthusiasm but then don't take the counsel of the many others from whom I could quote who talk about mapping out your sermons months in advance and sticking to it marking out the paragraphs announcing ahead and boom boom boom boom boom

41:22 just like that and no sensitivity to God's own dealings with your own heart his dealings with your people no the fundamental principle operative and a wise selection of sermonic materials is this delicate interplay continually between the natural and the supernatural the divine the human the rational the mystical and it will always be there and at any point where your sermonic selection does not over a period of six months reflect due consideration to that principle and both of its polar principles or both aspects of God working and our working then you may be at least in the incipient stages of either enthusiasm

Guideline 1: Consistent Prayer for Divine Guidance

42:07 or rationalism and I pray God will call you back from it alright now we come to Roman numeral three which is really the heart of what I hope will be helpful to you we've looked at the biblical roots of our axiom the fundamental principle operative in a wise selection of sermonic materials now Roman numeral three some general guidelines for wise selection of sermonic materials some general guidelines and I have five number one or a large letter A seek to be consistently prayerful for divine guidance in this matter seek to be consistently prayerful

42:50 for divine guidance in this matter the thought that the state of your people spiritually will greatly be determined by the spiritual diet you give them ought continually to make you cry out who is sufficient for these things if we are in the language of one of the nutritionists of the past generation if we are what we eat Adele Davis' book you are what you eat if that's true spiritually and for the most part it is and if what your people eat is what you decide to put on the table in your public ministries then do you see

43:34 how this ought to be one of those haunting undercurrents of pastoral concern that drives us to a prayerfulness oh oh , Lord lead me give me direction give me guidance help me to know what your people need help me by your spirit to be guided in the selection of my sermonic materials who can measure the curse of a prayerless parson who guesses impulses for sermonizing from the whims of the moment or from the dictates of convenience or expediency what assurance can we ever have that we are being guided

44:18 if we are prayerless on so vital a matter James 4.4 you have not because you ask not so brethren seek to be consistently prayerful for divine guidance in the matter there's a sense in which it's one of the prayers that you learn to carry around in your heart continually at times it will break out into conscious fervent supplication in this closet there are other times it will come up to the level of consciousness as you mingle among your people but it will be one of those things that is there uttered or unuttered conscious or unconscious as a continual yearning before God that you may be sensitive

45:02 to know what God would have you bring to your people and when it's there it's amazing you'll be in a pastoral situation and you weren't even conscious that you had prayed that prayer perhaps even for days consciously and something will be said and immediately you'll say Lord that's the answer to my prayer to my oh yes I have really been it's been a disposition of soul that I've been holding up before God and almost unconsciously holding it there so that when the answer comes you recognize it is from the Lord that's the answer that's what I ought to do that's what happened with this matter of Sunday morning I was exercised I just felt it was an act of brotherly love since I only preached half my sermon last week and knew I'd have much less work preparing for Sunday morning and knew the pressures

45:47 that were on Dr. Bob I called him up and said look you want another respite for Sunday he said well I don't want to lay more burdens on you I said look answer my question could you use another Lord's Day in which you only have to minister once well I really could I said alright I'll take it well I didn't know what I was going to pray and I was praying Lord give direction give guidance and I spread the thing before the Lord formally in my own times alone with God and then when twice this week there were those situations with people calling I've got an appointment for four o'clock tomorrow to go and minister to one of the four year olds who wants to talk to pastor about her soul and all of that combined with other things I said Lord I believe this is the direction I ought to go if so make my mind fertile

46:30 help me to bring together the strands of truth and I sat down yesterday afternoon after reworking the lecture for today and the stuff just all began to fit together I knew I had the answer from God now that that's not the way it always comes but you see it must be a a cultivation of a prayerful disposition in which you are continually standing in the posture of dependence upon divine upon God for divine guidance in this matter of the selection of sermonic material and if anything will drive you to plead the promise of James 1 if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God it is the awesome weight of knowing that the diet of your people and therefore their spiritual well-being will in great measure

47:15 be determined by what you do in this area of selection of sermonic materials alright second guideline seek to be aware of the needs of the flock seek to be aware of the needs of the flock to do the work of shepherding as we are mandated or as is mandated in Acts 20-28 is to lead them to feed them to guard them and therefore in the language of Proverbs 27-23 be diligent to know the status of your flocks the great example of course

Guideline 2: Awareness of the Flock's Needs

47:59 is not only our Lord but Paul the pastor of churches where he's listing all of the things that he experiences in his apostolic experience in 2 Corinthians 11 he says that above all of these things is one great matter that presses in upon him continually and what is it? anxiety for all the churches anxiety for all of the churches 2 Corinthians 11-28 besides those things that are without there is that which presses upon me daily the very thing he forbids in Philippians 4 be anxious for nothing

48:43 same Greek word anxiety great solicitude for all the churches in other words because of his pastoral awareness there was constant pastoral anxiety and his epistles reflect that his less confrontational epistles such as the pastoral epistles again he's concerned with the state of the church there at Ephesus for this cause I left you at Ephesus 1 Timothy 1.3 Titus 1.5 etc and then our Lord of course is the classic example when he's going to give as it were a statement of the kingdom he has come to establish and to establish and to establish and to establish and to establish and to establish and to establish

49:28 in the midst of all of the influence of Pharisaic religious instruction the Sermon on the Mount is the product in which he cuts through Pharisaic externalism in which he cuts through all of the major strands of the defects of the influence of Pharisaic teaching upon the minds of men and as you go through the Gospels you see that most of our Lord's richest teaching was occasional teaching that is teaching occasionally by the need of his flock whether the flock was the masses or whether the flock was the inner circle when he hears that they are discussing with one another who's going to be the greatest he gives his sermon on humility

50:13 when he knows they are distraught that he's about to leave them he gives his great sermons or homily on the coming of the paraclete so seek to be aware of the needs of the flock burn them out burn all in his massive treatise the Christian in complete armor he gives counsel with respect to this matter in these words page 231 the preacher must read and study his people as diligently as any book in his study and as he finds them dispense like a faithful steward unto them end quote

50:57 the preacher must read and study his people as diligently as he finds them as he finds as diligently as any book in his study and as he finds them dispense like a faithful steward unto them Richard Baxter speaking to the same issue of seeking to be aware of the needs of the flock in his reform pastor page 113 says this throughout the whole course of our ministry we must insist chiefly upon the greatest most certain most necessary truths and be more seldom and sparing upon the rest if we can but teach Christ to our people we shall teach them all get them well to heaven and they will have knowledge enough

51:42 the great and commonly acknowledged truths of religion are those that men must live upon and which are the great instruments of destroying men's sins and raising the heart to God in other words he's saying there are general truths constantly needed which must constantly be enforced but then he goes on to say I confess I think necessity should be the great disposer of a minister's course of study and labor if we were sufficient for everything we might attempt everything and take in order the whole encyclopedia but life is short and we are dull and eternal things are necessary and the souls that depend on our teaching are precious I confess necessity

52:26 has been the conductor of my studies in life it chooses what book I shall read and tells me when and how long it chooses my text and makes my sermon both for matter and manner as far as I can keep out my own corruption necessity awareness of the needs of the flock in God's dealings with my own heart seek to be aware of the needs of the flock now let me break that down into three categories first of all their overall or general needs are you ministering to a people who in their background were fed on dispensationalism well you ought to know that so that in your

53:11 handling of the word and your selection of sermonic materials you will neutralize those influences are you dealing with a people infected with hyper-Calvinism are you dealing with a people who've had a lot of so-called positional teaching with very little application to the conscience and ethical pressure well you ought to be aware of that what is the religious climate out of which they've come what is the cultural climate that has been molding and shaping their thinking if you're in a place very long ask yourself what has been the drift of my own ministry as you mature in your understanding you'll say well here are certain strands of truth that either

53:55 I did not emphasize or I did not understand or if I did I did not understand them as clearly as I do now I did not see that they ought to be as prominent as they are as I now see they ought to be therefore my people probably have need that those truths be given to them in unusual doses to make up for the lack of previous under-emphasizing of those truths what are the overall or general needs then ask yourself what are the specific or critical needs the needs arising from specific specific crises in the church if you're going through for the first time as a church a case of serious public corrected discipline what better time

54:39 to preach through some of the pivotal passages your people are existentially ready for it you were out on Wednesday night remember Pastor Fisher said he's going to bring his first series on the diaconate why? because there's a general consensus that God has laid his hand upon a man to serve in the church as a deacon and therefore there is this specific or critical need arising from a specific crisis in the church when we've ever entered into a major building program I've brought topical messages one series on a godly building program another one theology of architecture another on the peculiar dangers of the building program I've got four or five series because we've gone

55:24 through four or five cycles of congregational life in which the people need to get their biblical bearings set before them there was a specific or critical need and then there may be what I would call occasional needs needs arising from a death of an eminent saint which has sent a shiver of grief and pain through the entire congregation well you don't just go plodding on with your next passage in Matthew, Mark or Ephesians I marvel at the insensitivity of some pastors the congregation is in a state of shock and they stand up and say now in that passage in Ephesians

56:09 3 is I mean if I was sitting there I'd tell you all I could do I'd want to just raise my hand and say preacher where you been Mars? where you been? you been in some other galaxy? where you been man?

56:22 don't you know that our hearts are bleeding? don't you know we're in a state of shock? our minds and our spirits are all enmeshed with the fact that a giant among us is gone a well beloved and esteemed saint is gone we feel all of that what's the word of God to us? so seek to be sensitive to the occasional needs those needs arising perhaps from a national emergency I was alive and old enough to appreciate the shock that came upon President Kennedy's death I had to preach on it the next Sunday said some things that shocked some people for the first time were becoming aware that this is God's world

57:07 and I remember saying that when Lee Harvey Allswell pulled that trigger I said you know who guided that bullet to find its mark that exploded the skull of that president he said Jehovah the God of the Bible guided that bullet he guided it that guy had sneezed I mean when you look at the logistics of that bullet finding that mark even with that high powered rifle and that scope that he had I mean it was a marvelous marvelous display of markmanship and any of you who've shot it all know how one little thing can just at such a distance make the difference of a bullet finding its mark or missing by two feet and the people needed to put all of this thing

57:51 into biblical perspective and then get on with the matters and so we had to address the issue and you will have to from time to time you were here when that shuttle disaster again someone who just acted as though that didn't happen when the people's minds and spirits have just been impregnated with a national event like that be sensitive to those things and let it dictate your sermonic selection now if you're going to select sermonic materials based on a sensitivity to the needs of your people and I've exhorted you seek to be aware of their needs I've described their needs as overall or general needs specific or critical needs occasional needs that's going to make certain demands

58:36 of you as a pastor it means you have to be alert to the indications of their need pray that God will give you overgrown spiritual antennae God will give you enlarged ears that God will give you some good big reception dishes to pick up the signals not coming from outer space in a satellite but that are coming from your people Paul got his letter to the Corinthians by listening to whoever the householder called he is I don't know who they are I don't know what claim they had upon Paul's ears but when they began to tell him what was going on at Corinth he listened

59:20 it has been reported unto me of the household of Chloe that there are divisions among you so he got his sermon by listening by listening by listening be alert to the indications of need some of them will come directly some of them will come indirectly for example and I'm preaching this stuff to myself here I'm listening to Donald McLeod on the tape last week someone just sent me a copy of his masterful sermon on justification that he brought it to Cary conference just a few weeks ago they air mailed a copy to me and since I've got to preach three times at Leicester on justification I'm getting help from wherever I can get it and my own soul

60:05 was blessed and in it he was emphasizing we cannot preach too frequently and forcefully and repeatedly on this great subject of the alien righteousness that is the foundation of the believer's acceptance with God and I'm saying Lord that's true and I've been trying more and more even last Sunday morning making my gospel disclaimer as I moved into an area of Christian duty well then lo and behold twice in one week I have sitting in my study young men in their late 20s and a great stumbling block the great problem in their spiritual pilgrimage in spite of all they've heard and the rest they haven't gotten hold of the glory of resting in an alien righteousness so last Tuesday night I was preaching to that guy for a solid half hour

60:49 on the alien righteousness that is there for believers last night for an hour and a half another young man same thing I said pounding away Philippians chapter 3 1 Corinthians chapter 1 Galatians 2 20 pounding away pounding away pounding away well what's happening well I think I'm getting some light on some stuff that I'm going to have to preach I'm getting some signals not from outer space but out of the mouths echoing the heart condition the people sitting under a ministry that I thought sufficiently emphasized this truth we try to have at least one huge hymn every Lord's day that focuses on it in our prayers but apparently apparently it's still not getting through

61:34 and then Donald McLeod's words are ringing in my ears saying we can't emphasize it too much we must not assume that our people are grasping something that is so foreign to all the innate tendencies of the human heart and Donald McLeod's preaching in one ear and my counseling sessions are preaching in the other ear I'm getting a message you see this is what I mean by being sensitive to the needs of your people that means you must be alert to the indications of need and then obviously it means secondly you've got to be in contact with your people you've got to be in contact with your people not just formally though you ought to be formally in your regular pastoral visits but informally

62:17 when you're catching them off guard when they forget you their pastor you're just there as their friend and you're just kibitzing you're just shooting the breeze that's when sometimes bowing you've got to be in contact with your people thirdly you must have good communication with your fellow elders assuming they're true elders they're in contact with the people what are their reception dishes picking up what are their antenna picking up be in good communication with your fellow elders as you brethren make your pastoral visits what vibes are you picking up are there any common strands of need

63:01 any areas of tension what are you what messages are you getting feed them in to those who are responsible for the public ministry of the earth and then the fourth thing you've got to keep abreast of current or general currents in society that are influencing your people you cannot be detached to the extent that you are ignorant of the general currents in society that are battering as it were upon the walls of the souls of your people and sometimes breaking down those walls all right so there's my second word of counsel seek to be consistently prayerful for divine guidance

Guideline 3: Sensitivity to God's Dealings with Your Heart

63:46 seek to be aware of the needs of your flock now let's take a break and then I'll give you the last three which are much briefer and then hopefully we'll have time even for a little discussion let's pick up where we left off in the previous hour I'm trying to give you some practical guidelines notice I didn't call them rules but guidelines for wise sermonics for wise sermonics selection and we covered two in the previous hour I exhorted you to be consistently prayerful secondly seek to be aware of the needs of the flock now thirdly seek to be sensitive to God's dealings with your own heart and mind

64:29 as a Christian man seek to be sensitive to God's dealings with your own heart and mind as a Christian man as you read the word good books verses and themes subjects will begin to burn in your own heart you'll be able at least in some measure to say with the prophet thy word was in my heart as a fire shut up within my bones as you read proven servants of God certain truths will grip your own mind with unusual clarity and force

65:12 in the vicissitudes of your own spiritual experience you will come through certain times when God is unusually present in your own experience at a certain point of redemptive privilege well those things will legitimately influence the whole matter of sermonic selection for example in John Owen in volume 7 in his preface to his masterful treatise on spiritual mindedness which about a month ago I completed

65:56 my third reading of that treatise and each time I go through I wonder how I could have missed so much the previous times but this is what Owen says in his preface I think it necessary to give the reader a brief account of the nature and design of the ensuing plain discourse which may both direct him in the reading and be some kind of an apology for the publishing of it he may know therefore that the thoughts here communicated were originally private meditations for my own use in a season wherein I was every way unable to do anything for the edification of others and far from expectation that I should be able to do so anymore in this world

66:40 in other words they were his dying meditations but then God raised him up receiving as I thought some benefit and satisfaction in the exercise of my own meditation therein when God was graciously pleased to restore a little strength to me I insisted on the same subject in the instruction of a private congregation and this I did partly out of a sense of the advantage I had received myself being conversant in them and partly from an apprehension that the duties directed and pressed into the whole discourse were seasonable from all sorts of present circumstances to be declared and urged in the minds of consciences of professed Christians for leaving others unto the choice of their own

67:25 methods and designs I acknowledge that these are the two things whereby I regulate my work in the whole course of the ministry here's the two things number one to impart those truths of whose power I hope I have had in some measure a real experience and two to press those duties which present occasions temptations and other circumstances do render necessary to be attended unto in a peculiar manner he says that's how I regulate the whole course of my ministry I read what God's doing in my own heart and the truth I am experiencing and the circumstances and necessities of my people in their circumstances that's Owen's method of choosing sermon subjects now

68:09 no one could accuse Owen of being an enthusiast but you can't accuse him of being a rationalist either and you see a beautiful fusion of those two and then he goes on even to amplify that further and but you can read it yourself in the preface it's on well it's it doesn't have a page number on it but you'll find in the preface to volume 7 it's page 263 though the page number is not listed 264 is and 261 is you have a beautiful statement of this in Gardner Spring and again in the interest of time I'll not read the entirety of it but on page 230 231 Gardner Spring who was such a powerful preacher for so many years he

68:54 deals with this whole subject of the importance of being sensitive to God's dealings with your own heart hence the importance of their observing his dealings with them and making the best use of their own experience in the instruction of those committed to their charge if he smiles or frowns upon them if he suffers Satan to have them that he may sip them as wheat if he gives them unwanted and humbling views of their own sinfulness with great experience of their own wickedness great experience of the Savior's love and mercy if he covers them with darkness or enables them to walk in the light of his countenance it is not for their sakes only but for those to whom they minister and then he alludes to 2 Corinthians 1

69:39 where Paul says whatever happens to us happens to us that in turn we may be able to minister appropriate grace to others and then he goes on to make some very astute observations in general principles and then moving from the general principles on page 233 and following he has some wonderful quotes out of John Owen I mean out of John Bunyan and how when Bunyan was under the lash of the law and no peace of conscience he said I went into the pulpit as in chains to preach to those who were in chains and he preached the terrors of the law and he said then when God brought me to joyous liberation in the beautiful awareness or the spiritual awareness of the beauty of an alien righteousness then I did preach freely the things I understood and perceived and felt

70:24 and experienced well there's that element of truth that we must never discount in this whole matter of selecting our shamanic material now it must not be the only thing some preachers their preaching in terms of subject matter is an unofficial spiritual autobiography now I'm not talking about doing that but neither can we totally discount that because God's dealings with you many times are tailor made by God to prepare you to be able to minister that particular set of truths to others with which you are presently and powerfully conversely because of God's dealings with your own heart and mind as a Christian man fourth counsel is

Guideline 4: Sensitivity to Your Present Development as a Preacher

71:08 seek to be sensitive to your present development as a preacher seek to be sensitive to your present development as a preacher here we're back to Romans 12 4 I say to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly and you must face what I hope will be true that you will not only grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus over the years but you will grow in your abilities as a public teacher and preachers now if musicians recognize that certain roles are bigger than the development of their musical and vocal powers shouldn't we have

71:53 the humility to recognize the same Richard Tucker who was probably the outstanding singer of the of the Puccini Puccini and Verdi roles in particular up until he died some 10 years ago he died in 1975 oh it's 12 years now almost but he was just about prepared to sing a role he'd longed to sing all his life and here he was in his early 60s but he felt he had not matured as a singer as a musician and as a man to attack the particular role and he was to sing it publicly for the first time two weeks after he died and you see this in terms of wise singers

72:37 they don't burn themselves out they don't attack roles when they feel they can't do justice to them now there's a sense in which we can never do justice to anything we preach granted but certainly a man that takes up in the first couple of years of this ministry a series of verse by verse expositions of the Song of Solomon or the Book of the Revelation is either an unusual tyro or a fool or has a horribly exalted view of his faculties and powers as a preacher likewise when some men commit themselves to verse by verse exposition in the first couple of years of their ministry and they're not ready to do it profitably to their people and they've put their people off I've gone to churches

73:21 where people are totally turned off to consecutive expository preaching because someone tried to do it with a book that was well over their head in terms of content, structure and length and they soured people on it you see well this is what I mean by seek to be sensitive to your present development as a preacher I hope before I die that I will feel I can take up the Book of Hebrews and not empty the congregation by the time I'm through I've just I stand intimidated before the Book of Hebrews at the thought of preaching through it I stand intimidated before the minor prophets and my wife and I have just recently or read in the midst of reading through the minor prophets and our own devotions

74:06 and any thought that I might bring a series on them has well nigh been smashed for probably another decade I was beginning to get up courage that I might be able to preach with prophets maybe just a sermon or two on each of the minor prophets a broad overview but re-reading them has humbled me again and I've just said Lord ain't no way Jose just I just stand intimidated before it so seek to be sensitive to your own development some have asked me why have you never preached through a gospel until now well frankly I didn't know how I could do it without killing the people with monotony I just did not feel I had developed as a homiletician sufficiently to do it and the second reason was I knew there was no way

74:51 to preach the gospel materials without using the imaginative faculty to the full and I knew that because I have more than an ordinary amount of that natively and that that has killed many a preacher I didn't trust myself till I had developed enough in grace to feel I could harness that and let it out to its proper use without destroying my own soul in the process now I'm being perfectly honest with you and that's why I didn't attempt to start preaching through a gospel in its entirety till just a couple of years ago I felt my own development as a preacher now I'm not saying you've got to wait till you've been in the ministry 30 years before you do it you may not have the peculiar temptation if you've got a fertile imagination

75:35 and some faculty of description it is not it is that which when exercised properly can make preaching very attractive and it can also cause you to make an idol of your gift cause your people to make an idol of you and kill both you and them in the process and I've been scared to death of that faculty I've held it in tight reign at times I feel maybe I've sinned by not using it for the sake of truth but I've been so afraid of its abuse and when I read how vividly Whitfield used it and I've just been doing some reading this week in a biography of a man who heard Whitfield preach many times and he's got whole excerpts in there and I tell you just reading his account of Whitfield's descriptive imaginative faculty just caused me

76:19 to be riveted to my seat and I said well Lord maybe I should let that thing out more but every time I do I get scared because I know what a plague it has been upon the ministry and what a stumbling block and so each of you has to wrestle with that you have to be sensitive to your present development as a preacher both in terms of your gift in terms of your growth in grace and what you commit yourself to preach on will be determined by that now you don't sit back fatalistically the Bible says stir up the gift that is in you you set new goals homiletically as well as exegetically all of that is true but in the midst of it seek to be sensitive to your present development alright and then fifth and final word of counsel is seek to be sensitive

Guideline 5: Sensitivity to the Flock's Reaction

77:03 to the reaction of the flock of God seek to be sensitive to the reaction of the flock of God we are not men pleasers 1 Thessalonians 2.4 Galatians 1.10 we should yet seek to please men we should not be the servants of Christ but we are shepherds of the flock and we do love our people and we want to profit our people and therefore if we discern that a given course on which we have struck out is not being profitable to our people the spiritually minded as well as the less spiritually minded we are not men pleasers and there's a general

77:47 consensus coming back as we seek to have them talk to us and evaluate the worth of what we're doing and our fellow elders evaluated that the things are just too pedantic they are heavy they are lacking in life lacking in relevance and this is not people who don't love the Lord and love you and love his word and have proven by their track record their spiritual mindedness but these are the true people of God then they are not men pleasers don't feel that having committed yourself to a course of sermons that's the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be broken stand up and tell your people say as I've had my ear to the congregation and the fellow elders have it's evident that this series

78:32 is for some reason or other has gone flat and it isn't helping you I'm sorry I appreciate your honesty as of this week this is the last you're going to hear of Job for who knows how long tell your people be honest with them what have you got to lose what have you got to lose oh yeah some of your enemies will pick on that but that's alright they'll find something else anyway but your friends will love you all the more see you've got to come to the place where you say look my enemies are going to find stuff and make stuff no matter what I do there were some people you can't win remember what Jesus said this generation is like children in the marketplace they say hey guys let's go play funeral nah I'm happy let's go dance they say alright come on let's go play happy times let's go play a wedding reception nah I want to play funeral he said John the Baptist came he's too serious

79:17 he drinks and eats funny food and dresses funny don't listen to him son of man comes ordinary garment eats ordinary food drinks ordinary wine nothing special about him you know he's a wine bibber and a glutton can't listen to him well you're going to have people in your congregation that way and the sooner you face that and get free of them the better off you are you'll be in terrible bondage if you think you're going to please them there's nothing you can do to please them and the minute you start altering your course in terms of the criticism of last week there'll be criticizing the course you've altered and their criticism will be one step ahead of your alteration so you just forget it there's nothing you can do but when the true people who love you and there's a consensus you just be honest with them and just say

80:01 look I got in over my head in this I thought I could obviously I couldn't I'm going to bail out nothing else that'll be good for keeping you cut down to size and to let your people know that you're not up there to protect your image to prove something so be sensitive to the fact of God in terms of their feedback and that may dictate whether you ought to continue in a given series whether it's time to break off for a little while there are times when we have found that like with the series on Hebrews I've never seen the book of Hebrews opened up the way Pastor Bob has opened it up in that adult class but it's heavy stuff and we've sensed from our people that they needed periodic breaks from it so we've taken those breaks and then when we've come back into it it's like the book of Hebrews has come alive again

80:46 and you've all been part of that how when we came back into these chapters this fall there's been a peculiar unction on that and we're seeing it in our pastoral counseling Pastor Barker has testified that he's never had as much concentrated feedback coming out of a series in the Sunday school class as he's getting from those he counsels in reference to Hebrews since we started back in this fall well you try to be sensitive to that as elders and realize that when you get in a book that's heavy and has long sections of involved argument and you're going in detailed study your people will need periodic breaks that doesn't mean they're carnal that doesn't mean they're spiritually immature it means they're human and so you recognize that and respond accordingly so those are my five words of counsel to you brethren

81:31 in terms of trying to make wise decisions about the selection of sermonic material be consistently prayerful sensitive to the needs of the flock sensitive to God's dealings with your own heart sensitive to your present development as a preacher and sensitive to your reaction of the flock of God okay