Well, turn with me in your Bibles once again to Matthew 28 this evening. Matthew 28. We’ve been studying worship, as you know, these evening services in this year. In the last few weeks, we have shifted our focus on to what we do in our worship services.

We started with the ordinances, the ordinances given to us by Jesus himself. Those ordinances, as we’ve seen in the last two weeks, are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We started there because those are the things commanded to do in our worship, specifically. They are ordinances given by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We are commanded, again, as we’ve seen, to do these things as the church.

But that is not all we are commanded to do. In fact, we are going to begin once again with the Great Commission here in Matthew 28. We started there with baptism because that is part of the Great Commission, but the Great Commission includes more than baptism. If you are there in Matthew 28, I’ll read the Great Commission again. It is verses 18 through 20 of Matthew 28, and it says this.

Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

So we are to make disciples and baptize them. But the commission goes on to include teaching them. We’re not simply to go out and make converts. We are to produce obedient, baptized followers of Jesus Christ. And the primary means of accomplishing this is by teaching and by implication, preaching all that Jesus has commanded. So while we don’t call it an ordinance, because that’s not technically what it is, but preaching is no less important when it comes to worshiping Jesus as he instructed us to. Preaching is an essential part of our worship services. In fact, preaching is the central focus of our worship services.

Martin Lloyd-Jones tells the story in his book, Preaching and Preachers. that when he was first called to Westminster Chapel as the preaching minister, as a young man, when he got to that church, the pulpit of the church was easily movable. And often he would come in and not even find it in the place where it should be. They would often move it out of the way off to the side so that the church could put on drama performances and productions as part of their worship service. And that had really become the focus of the church, to entertain people. So, one of the first things that Martin Lloyd-Jones did when he came to that church was he nailed the pulpit to the floor.

And that was to communicate. The message that his church desperately needed to hear. And that the preaching of the word of God is the primary focus of the church. Lord Jones himself said, the most urgent need in the Christian church today is true preaching. And as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also. Preaching was not only Martin Lloyd-Jones’ occupation, it was his conviction. He said that more than 50 years ago and it’s only more true today.

What I’d like to do this evening is focus on the importance of preaching in our worship. We’ll look at the biblical evidence for preaching and the importance of preaching. We’ll look at what preaching ought to be and why we do it the way that we do it. If you’ve been to other churches in the past, you may have noticed that we are a little different than most churches out there, and that revolves around our preaching, and the importance we place on preaching the whole counsel of the Word of God.

So I would like to take the time this evening to think about why that is. Why is it that we are the way that we are as a church, and we focus on what we focus on? Why do we do what we do the way that we do it? And so that’ll be where we’re going to go this evening. And my doctorate, of course, the classes I’ve been taking, is with a focus in expository preaching. So this is kind of right in my wheelhouse for a topic.

And I’ve had a lot of books and other sources that I’ve had to read over the last couple of years, so I’ve had a lot to pull from as I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to speak on as it relates to preaching in worship. I do believe the best book on preaching is the one I just referred to. I know Pastor Pyatt agrees, we’ve talked about it before, and that is Martin Lloyd-Jones’ book, Preaching and Preachers. He is one of my all-time favorite preachers. Many of his sermons are still available today to listen to. I find that his style and perspective on preaching is very similar to my own. Another incredibly helpful book on the topic of preaching. for its purpose and its definition is Dr. John MacArthur’s book, Rediscovering Expository Preaching.

So those are a couple resources that are very helpful when it comes to this idea, and they were helpful in putting my thoughts together as it comes to why we preach the way that we preach. And we’ll start with scripture this evening, and really that’s what we’ll find our focus and what we’ll find our basis from. And as I usually do, as we’ve been thinking about worship, I’m tempted to begin by looking in the Old Testament and looking at the Old Testament precedent for preaching, because it’s there. Preaching was not just a New Testament thing. For example, the entire book of Deuteronomy is the preaching of Moses.

Deuteronomy 1.1 starts by saying, these are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel. And then it proceeds to give us four different sermons that Moses preached.

Or we could read Joshua and how Joshua preached to the nation as they conquered the land and he was leaving the scene. And the way he preached for them to submit to God and to obey God and to commit themselves to the God who delivered them. Or we could look at Nehemiah and Ezra. As there, the people come back from exile and the priests read and explain the Word of God to the people. Or we can look at all the prophets as they preach the Word of God. Thus says the Lord. And they would give the message of God to the people of God.

But we’ll spend more time in the Old Testament looking at those things in the next sermon in this series when we’ll focus on the public reading and hearing of Scripture. But what I want to focus on tonight specifically is preaching and the call for the church to preach. And so we’ll spend a lot of our time in the New Testament for that because there are no less than five commands in the New Testament to preach the word of God. One of them we’ve already found in the Great Commission and by implication, the things that we are to do because of what the Lord Jesus commanded us as he was ascending to heaven. But we also see mandates to preach throughout the New Testament, specifically in the letters of Paul as he wrote to young preachers, young pastors, and told them what they are to be doing.

For example, in 1 Timothy 4.13, if you’d like to turn there this evening.

We’re going to spend a lot of time in 1 and 2 Timothy, but 1 Timothy 4.13, Paul writing to Timothy says to him, until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. We’ll come back again to this text next week as we focus on the public reading of Scripture.

But we also see here the emphasis on exhortation and teaching, or that is to say preaching. People often wonder what is the difference between preaching and teaching. And I would say that the main difference is exhortation. It is the exhortation aspect, the impressing upon the hearers, the application of the text.

And that is what Paul instructs Timothy to do until he comes to see him. So that’s one of the places where preaching is commanded. And then you see in 2 Timothy, flip over a couple pages there, 2 Timothy 2. It says in verse two, more instructions for the young pastor Timothy.

It says, and the things which you’ve heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So don’t just preach and teach the word. Teach others to do the same thing. Entrust these things to faithful men.

Paul started by preaching to these people. Now he’s commanding Timothy to continue preaching himself and to teach other men to do the same. And then 2 Timothy chapter four. Paul continuing to instruct Timothy. And we’ll come back to this one specifically. But verse two simply says preach the word. Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and teaching. Paul’s instructions for Timothy are preach the word. We’re going to come back to that again to see kind of the lead up to that, because that’s very important for that instruction.

But lastly, the last one we see Paul write to another pastor, and that is Titus, in Titus 2.1. Paul instructs Titus, but as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. Or in other words, preach the word. Preach sound doctrine.

These are the instructions Paul gives to these pastors. And so added to the Great Commission, these four additional commands and imperatives to preach are given to young pastors. And pastors or elders are the leaders that Jesus set up to lead the church. And their primary responsibility in the church is to preach the word.

And what we see throughout the New Testament is not just the call to preach, but the example of preaching. The example given to us by those who preached. And this comes right from the beginning of the New Testament. We see this start with John the Baptist. As the New Testament opens, really the first character on the scene, is John the Baptist. After the birth narrative in a couple of the gospels, some of the gospels start right with John the Baptist, but in Matthew chapter three, verses one and two, it says this.

Now, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Yes, John was a baptizer, but first he was a preacher. He preached the word of God. He preached the kingdom of heaven and those who repented and came to him would be baptized. And then came Jesus. And we’ve seen throughout the book of John, as we’ve been studying John’s gospel, one of Jesus’ primary focuses of his earthly ministry was preaching. We’ve seen several of the sermons of Jesus already.

But in Matthew chapter four, following the ministry of John the Baptist, Matthew 4.17 says that from that time Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The very same message of John, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And following Jesus was the apostles. After Jesus ascended to heaven and gave the Holy Spirit to those there at Pentecost and the church began, What did they do? Right in Acts chapter 2, they began preaching. The first thing that happens after the Holy Spirit is given is Peter starts preaching. In Acts chapter 2 verse 14, this is what we read. This is early on in Acts 2, right after the gift of the Spirit. It says, but Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.

And he proceeds with the first sermon there in the book of Acts. So preaching is right at the beginning of the church. The church starts in it, the church starts preaching. This is what the church is for. And then as the church grows and spreads, we read later on in Acts chapter eight, Verses four and five, therefore those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. So the church grows and the scattered ones, they go around preaching. And then in verse five, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them. The church preaches.

The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel. And then in the next chapter, Paul comes on the scene. In Acts chapter 9, we read of the conversion of Paul, and then later on, starting in verse 18, this is what it says of Paul after he is baptized. Starting in verse 18, it says, and immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he rose up and was baptized, and he took food and was strengthened.

Now for several days, as he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. He is saying he is the son of God. And all those hearing him continued to be astounded and were saying, is this not the one who in Jerusalem destroyed those that called on his name and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests? But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this one is the Christ.

Paul is converted miraculously. He’s saved. He’s baptized. And he immediately, it says, immediately starts preaching Christ. He couldn’t help himself. This is what happened to Paul when he is truly converted. And then he doesn’t stop there. The rest of the book of Acts is Paul’s preaching and the trouble he gets into because he’s preaching. And you see it with not only him, but those who are with him.

In Acts 15 verse 35, but Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Antioch teaching and preaching with many others also the word of the Lord. And then we looked at this passage a few weeks ago at the very end of the book of Acts, the last two verses. This is how it leaves off. This is the cliffhanger of the book of Acts. Acts 28 verses 30 and 31, and he, that is Paul, stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence unhindered.

So the book of Acts, the first history of the church ends with the words of Paul ringing out, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the story of the church. This is who the church is. The church preaches the gospel. From John the Baptist to Jesus to all of the apostles and then on into the church age, we see that the church is to be concerned with the preaching of God’s word.

And not just preaching, not just any kind of preaching, but expository preaching. Expository preaching. We see this example in Jesus on the road to Emmaus, where he exposited or explained the word of God to the disciples there on the road. This is in Luke chapter 24, and in verse 27 it says, then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he, the LSB has the word interpreted, or the word is exposited. to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures. He explained them. He gave the meaning of them. He showed the importance of them. To exposit, or again here it says interpret, is to explain the meaning of the text.

Preaching is not just getting up and reading the text. Expository preaching is preaching that clearly and accurately communicates the word of God to the people of God. It is preaching that explains the meaning. and explains the implication of the text. Dr. Richard Mayhew gives a helpful description and definition of what makes expository preaching. What makes preaching expository preaching? He says this, in summary, the following minimal elements identify expository preaching.

Number one, the message finds its sole source in Scripture. You preach the word. You don’t preach your feelings. You don’t preach your own stories. You preach the word. Expository preaching has its source in scripture. Not only that, number two, the message is extracted from scripture through careful exegesis. It’s exegesis.

That word means pulled from the text. It’s not eisegesis, which is found in many places. where you read your own thoughts or feelings or impetus into the text. I have an idea that I wanna communicate to you, so I’m gonna use this Bible verse and put my own meaning into it so that you can see what I’m getting at. That is, yeah, eisegesis. That word means into the text. Eisegesis is reading your meaning into it. Exegesis is getting the meaning from it. So not only is it the source, the scriptures, but the meaning of the text is found in the scripture. Thirdly, he says the message preparation correctly interprets scripture in its normal sense and context.

This means that we understand what the text meant to its original audience. What was the context of the text that we’re preaching? That’s why, for example, this morning, I gave you the context of the Feast of Booths and what that meant and why this was significant that Jesus stood up on the last day and gave his message. That’s a big deal in that text. That’s why we explain the sense and context of the text.

And similarly, number four that he gives, is that the message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of the text. The intended meaning. What did the author intend when he wrote this text? What did this mean to the original audience? Because it cannot mean something that it did not mean to them. Now while the implications or the applications of the text may be different for us, the meaning itself doesn’t mean what it didn’t mean to them. So we get the original God-intended meaning of the text.

And lastly, and importantly, not only do we use all these tools to help us study the text, lastly, for it to be expository preaching, the message applies the scriptural meaning for today. Again, that is what makes it preaching. Otherwise, it’s just a New Testament survey class where we just look at the details of the text and we go home. Expository preaching gives the exhortation. This is what this means for us. This is what we should do with this text. This is what God is saying to us and how we now should live because of what he says in his word. Expository preaching is to give the word of God to the people of God in the way that he gave it to us.

When this is done, it’s very significant. When this is the manner of preaching, the Puritans used to say that the preacher is God’s mouthpiece. And so far as the preacher communicates the true meaning of God’s word, he speaks for God. So far as he proclaims God’s word, his voice is God’s voice.

And we see examples of expository preaching throughout the scriptures. People that speak with the authority of God because they’re speaking God’s word and the meaning of God’s word. The authority of the preacher does not come from the preacher or anything about him. The authority of the sermon comes from the authority of God’s word.

And we see, again, examples of expository preaching, this type of preaching that I’m speaking of throughout scripture, not only Jesus on the road to Emmaus, but also As I mentioned this text earlier, and I can’t help but give at least one Old Testament example, but in Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 8, verse 8, as the people have come back from exile now and the priests are trying to show the importance and the impetus of going back to God’s word and God’s law, we see in Nehemiah 8, verse 8.

It says this, they read from the book, from the law of God, explaining and giving insight. They provided understanding of the reading. They didn’t just read the law and leave it alone. They exposited it. They explained the meaning. Explaining and giving insight and providing understanding.

That is expository preaching. J.I. Packer hopefully describes this type of preaching that we see in the Bible. He says this, preaching appears in the Bible as a relaying of what God has said about himself and his doings and about men in relation to him. Plus, a pressing of his commands, promises, warnings, and assurances with a view to winning the hearer or hearers to a positive response. That’s a description of the type of preaching we see in the Bible, not only there in Nehemiah, not only in the preaching of Jesus, but even in the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts. This is what they do. They tell people what God says about himself, about themselves, and about what that means for their lives. That is biblical preaching. That is what we do each and every Lord’s Day.

As Paul said in Acts chapter 20, explaining why he is guiltless before God. In Acts 20 verse 26 and 27 he says, therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose or the whole counsel of God. Paul was guiltless because he was a faithful expository preacher. He faithfully preached the word of God and explained what that meant to people. Eventually, it got him killed.

Other examples of expository preaching include Jesus expositing Isaiah 61 in the synagogue there in Luke chapter 4, explaining the meaning of it. This is what you see before your eyes today. Also in Acts chapter eight, Philip, when he comes to the Ethiopian eunuch, and the Ethiopian eunuch says, who’s this guy in Isaiah 53? What does this even mean? And Philip expounds the text to him. He exposits it. He explains the text.

And the guy got saved. And another fantastic example of an expository sermon is from Stephen, the deacon. who was stoned to death. And as he’s about to be stoned, he preaches a fantastic Old Testament sermon. Goes right from the fathers all the way down and lays it at the feet of the people that are going to stone him. And then he dies. And that’s a tremendous expository sermon there in Acts chapter 7.

So all of this New Testament evidence shows us not only what preaching is. but also the importance that preaching held in the Bible and in the beginning of the church. This is the purpose of the church in the very first days. So, given all of that evidence, the question remains for us, why should preaching be central in our worship today? And really, the answer to this question has to do with our view of God’s word.

Our view of preaching is directly related to our view of God’s Word. So turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 3. And I really want to settle in on this one text for really the rest of our evening tonight. 2 Timothy, and we’ll begin in chapter 3. Again, our view of preaching will be directly affected by our view of God’s Word. And this is the way it was for Paul.

And Paul’s instructions here in 2 Timothy chapter three, he begins by explaining that hard times are coming, Timothy. It’s gonna get harder. And there are going to be evil and perverse men that are gonna make your life really difficult. It’s not gonna be easy to be a pastor because of all the opposition that you’re going to face. All of these terrible things that are going to happen.

And Paul has a solution. Paul has a solution for Timothy to that problem. We pick up in verse 14. Well, verse 13 says, but evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But then Paul’s solution comes in verse 14. But you. But you, Timothy. Yes, these things are coming. Yes, it’s going to get bad. Yes, it’s annoying that these things are going to happen. What do you do about it?

But you, Timothy, continue in the things you learned. and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul reminds Timothy of what it was that brought him this far, of what it was that brought him to salvation, of the things that are able to make you wise for salvation, And it was the sacred writings, scripture. It was God’s word that made him wise unto salvation. And Paul’s instructions are, keep doing that. Continue in that. You don’t need any new methods or formulas, Timothy. Continue in what you already know, God’s word. Continue on in those things.

And then Paul goes to explain why. He goes on to explain why Timothy needs to continue in his focus on the sacred writings. In a couple of our favorite verses. Verses 16 and 17 of 2 Timothy 3. All scripture. This is why you need to continue in this, Timothy. Continue in those sacred writings because all scripture Is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped, for every good work? There are several doctrines about scripture in this one text, in these two verses.

The very first one is inspiration, that word inspired. All scripture is inspired or God-breathed. It literally means breathed out. It has to do with the word spirit. The spirit is spirated or breathed out. Spirit has the same meaning as the word breath or wind. But as the spirit is given, the spirit comes from somebody. So it’s breathed out. In the same way, the scriptures come from somebody. The scriptures are breathed out by God, Paul says. Every word of scripture is breathed out from the very mouth of God.

The Bible is God’s very word. And therefore, because it is inspired, because of what that means, that this is God’s actual word, therefore, secondly, it’s authoritative. God’s word is authoritative to us. God’s Word has the authority that He does. When He speaks, that carries some weight. It is His Word, so it carries His authority. And the next doctrine is that it is inerrant. Scripture is inerrant.

The Bible is inerrant or without error because it’s God’s Word. It’s God’s Word, so it can’t be wrong. God cannot lie and God is omniscient or all-knowing. Therefore, if it is God’s Word, which we’ve just seen it is, He cannot be wrong. And by direct implication, God’s Word cannot be wrong.

So anytime you see somebody trying to prove the Word of God wrong with science or philosophy or any other thing, all scripture is breathed out by God. All science is not breathed out by God. All philosophy is not breathed out by God. I’m gonna go with God’s word when it speaks. All scripture is breathed out by God and therefore it is authoritative and inerrant.

And then we see the word profitable. All scripture is God-breathed and profitable. And there are two implications from this word. The first one is the clarity of Scripture. In order for Scripture to be profitable, it must be clear enough to be understood. In order for it to be profitable for the things that it is, it needs to be able to be understood. So the implication is that Scripture is clear enough for you to profit from it. This doesn’t mean that everything is easy to understand. in all places of Scripture, but by the proper study of Scripture and by the Spirit’s work in helping us understand Scripture, the Word of God is clear enough to be profitable.

It is clear enough for men to be saved. It is clear enough for it to accomplish the purpose for which God breathed it out. So Scripture is profitable and therefore it is clear, and not only that, The word profitable implies that God’s Word is sufficient. It is sufficient. God’s Word is sufficient.

It doesn’t say that Scripture plus the best wisdom in the world is profitable, or Scripture plus the best human knowledge, or Scripture plus psychology, or Scripture plus philosophy, or Scripture plus the input of the priest. or Scripture plus anything. God’s Word, all Scripture, is profitable. And Scripture itself is sufficient for these things. In verse 16, it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. All of those things can be done from the Word of God. All Scripture is profitable for those things.

Scripture’s sufficient. It is sufficient for everything in our life. It’ll go on to say that in verse 17. Again, not scripture plus. Not scripture plus therapy, or scripture plus counseling, or scripture plus psychology, or anything. All scripture is profitable. Scripture is sufficient. Other things may be helpful in some ways, but scripture itself is sufficient. It has all that we need, and all that we need for what? What are these things that are profitable for? What’s the purpose here? What do we need it for?

In verse 17, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is enough for us to be thoroughly equipped for every good work, not for some of the work, For everything, for everything that God intends for us to do, Scripture is sufficient.

Everything that pertains to life and godliness, Scripture is sufficient for all of that. So, these verses here tell us that Scripture is inspired, authoritative, inerrant, clear, and sufficient. And if we believe all that is true, If we believe verses 16 and 17, why would we not see preaching that word as essential and central for our worship? And that’s Paul’s conclusion to Timothy. Continue on in the things you’ve learned from sacred scripture, and not only that, then we come to chapter four. We continue in the next verse, after verses 16 and 17, explaining what scripture is.

In 2 Timothy 4, 1, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom. Since all Scripture is God-breathed, and since all Scripture is therefore inspired and authoritative and inerrant and clear and sufficient, since all of that is true, I solemnly charge you, Timothy.”

Paul keeps throwing more and more weight behind what he’s saying with every phrase that he says. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ. who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom.” He keeps just cranking up the intensity. Like, Timothy, listen, this is what you are to do, Timothy. Not only because of all of the evidence he’s given him as far as what the word of God is, then Paul throws his authority, his own authority behind what he is saying. I solemnly charge you. before God and Jesus Christ, who is the judge, who’s coming back. So there’s some implications here for you, Timothy.

But since all of that is true about scripture, therefore, verse two, preach the word. Preach the word. If that’s what the word is, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and teaching. If that is what God’s word is, if we believe that, preach it. Preach the word. Since that is what God’s word is, preach the word. It’s really that simple. No frills, no advertising campaigns, no smoke and lights, no programs and promotions. No, preach the word. That’s what Timothy is to do. Preach the word.

Again, as Dr. John MacArthur said, preaching ought to reflect our conviction that God’s word is infallible and inerrant. Too often it does not. In fact, there’s a discernible trend in contemporary evangelicalism away from biblical preaching and a drift toward experience-centered, pragmatic, and topical approach to scripture. The only logical response to the inerrant Word of God is expository preaching. Preach it in such a way that the meaning of the Bible, the meaning of the passage that you are in is presented entirely and exactly as God intended it.

Not preach a single verse and then tell a bunch of stories and jokes for 45 minutes. Not tell a life story and then find a verse that you can stretch somehow to fit what you’re wanting to say. Not use a verse here and there to support your seven principles for success and happiness in this specific area of life. That is not expository preaching.

Preach the word. Preach it. Tell God’s people what God’s word means. Read the text, explain the text, apply the text. It’s that simple. This is why I preach the way that I preach. This is what shapes my preaching. This is my conviction as to what preaching ought to be. Again, much like Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones would explain about his method of preaching, I don’t like to give personal stories or illustrations or jokes. I try to illustrate scripture with scripture when I preach. An illustration from outside scripture can be helpful from time to time, but I use those sparingly.

And I try to use illustrations in a way that you don’t even notice the illustration. Because I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone give an illustration so in depth and detailed and the illustration goes on and on to the point where you remember what the illustration was, but not what it illustrated. You have no idea what the point of this illustration was. It was just a cool story. And I remember the story, but I have no idea what the preacher was getting at with that one. I’d rather you forget the illustration and remember what’s being illustrated. So illustrations are important. if they’re used properly.

And personal illustrations are even rarer for me. I am errant. I am fallible. I am insufficient. I’m not up here to tell you about me. I’m really not that interesting. I’m up here to tell you about him, and he gave me the script. Why would I waste your time telling you about me? I’m gonna tell you what he said and explain what that means.

That is expository preaching. And if we really believe God is who he says he is, and we really believe that his word is what he says it is, the most supreme act of worship, the greatest way that we can show his importance and worthiness of our praise, is to preach the word that he gave us.

To preach the word that he gave us. God gave us his word to be communicated entirely as he gave it. The whole counsel of God is to be preached. Every portion of the word of God needs to be preached in light of all of scripture. And God’s word must be explained exactly as he gave it to us. Without changing the message. And when that happens, when that is how the word is preached, the preacher is God’s mouthpiece. So far as he proclaims the word of God, his voice is God’s voice. Is that how you view the preaching of God’s word? As if you are truly hearing from God. That is how I approach preaching every time I step into the pulpit. This is why the greatest, or the great Scottish reformer John Knox said, I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time I enter the pulpit.

This is a weighty responsibility. And not one that I take lightly. I do not want to stand before my creator with the responsibility of preaching his word and have to answer for preaching anything else. Because I want to be able to say with Paul, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

That is why we do what we do. That is why this church is what it is. Because God is who he is. And because God’s word is what he says it is. So we preach the word. In season and out of season. Whether you want to hear it or not. We are preaching the word. That is what we do. Because that is who he is. Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer this evening.

Our God in heaven, we are humbled by what your word is, by what that means to us, that you have spoken and you have given each one of us your word as written in scripture. Lord, I pray that we would understand the implication and responsibility of having the word of God. That not only would we read it and seek to understand it, but that we would live by it. That we would treat the word of God with the reverence that it deserves. That as we hear the preaching of the word of God, that as I prepare and preach your word, that your word would accomplish what you have set it out to do. Lord, help us to stay humble and reminded of the weight that your word bears. We thank you and we praise you and glorify you this evening. We pray this in Jesus’ precious name, amen.