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The Necessity of the Holy Spirit in Preaching

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

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How utterly dependent we are on the Holy Spirit in the work of preaching! All genuine preaching is rooted in a feeling of desperation. You wake up on Sunday morning and you can smell the smoke of hell on one side and feel the crisp breezes of heaven on the other. You go to your study and look down at your pitiful manuscript, and you kneel down and cry, “God, this is so weak! Who do I think I am? What audacity to think that in three hours my words will be the odor of death to death and the fragrance of life to life (2 Cor 2:16). My God, who is sufficient for these things?”-John Piper [1]

 

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” ( 1Cor 2:1-5 ESV)

The Apostle Paul spoke out boldly against the excesses of the Corinthian church’s abuses of the Spirit’s gifts and the counterfeit gifts being promoted as the Spirit’s work. Yet, he began his letter by confessing that his message was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The gospel message, considered foolish by this world, requires a messenger who will derive his power from the Spirit who sent him.

A biblical preacher needs to consider his task as a proclaimer of the supernatural message of our God and he must remember that the unbeliever is totally depraved, and that any human effort to affect his heart through methods and manipulation is foolish (1Cor 2:14). This is necessary because the radical depravity of man can only be overcome by the work of the Holy Spirit and not by our clever devices. Charles Spurgeon, related the effects of radical depravity on preaching:

“I shall not attempt to teach a tiger the virtues of vegetarianism; but I shall as hopefully attempt that task as I would try to convince an unregenerate man of the truths revealed by God concerning sin, and righteousness, and the judgment to come.”[2]

Without the Spirit, every message preached will fail to penetrate the sin-soaked hearts of man. Therefore biblical expositors who desire to remain faithful to the Lord and His Word cannot push the Holy Spirit to the outer rim of their theology, and treat Him as incidental and unnecessary in ministry. We cannot succeed without Him!

Therefore, I’d like to propose that every biblical expositor:

Must Be Committed to Biblical Power and Clarity
The undeniable fact is that preaching every week can become wearying if the pastor’s motivations are not right. If we seek to be true to our calling we must begin by searching our own hearts for the motive behind what we do in the pulpit. Do we preach to please the people or to proclaim the truth, come what may? When the crowds fail to knock down our doors, but instead flock to the church down the street that has a three-ring circus going on, do we begin to doubt the power of the Word preached? Does our theology of God’s power working through the instrument of His Word make its way into our pulpits Sunday after Sunday? The fact is, we must look to the source of the power that accompanies authentic biblical preaching: the Holy Spirit. This power comes in two ways:

Power in Prayer

E. M. Bounds wrote,

“What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men.”[3]

How dependent are you on God when you preach? How much time do you spend in prayer before you step into the pulpit? Paul not only said he was weak (1Cor 4:10), but he repeatedly asked for prayer: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you” (2Thess 3:1). Again and again Paul asked for prayer because he knew he was weak without God.

John Owen confronts us,

“A minister may fill his pews, his communion rolls, the mouths of the public, but what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.”[4]

Secondly we find:

Power Centered in the Piercing Word

Hebrews 4:12-13 says,

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Taken together, the thoughts and intentions of the heart are those deepest internal workings of the mind and those affections that are most hidden. According to Hebrews 4:13, this all-pervasive scrutiny of the Word, like a divine X-ray of the soul, penetrates every dark corner of the heart exposing everything that is hidden.

So powerful is God’s Word that Paul mentions the reaction of an unbelieving stranger when exposed to it: “…he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,  the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” (1 Cor 14:24-25).

The power of preaching does not come from the preachers style, outline, education, vocabulary, sense of humor or style of dress. The power comes from the Word of God preached through the Holy Spirit.
This is no excuse for laziness in the study, but the God of heaven does not need our ability to parse Greek verbs to change the souls of men.

The Power of the Word In the Study

Study is described by Paul as labor, it is hard work (kopiao) “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (1Tim 5:17). Study takes diligence (spoudazo-“persistent diligence” 2Tim 2:15)-“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
John MacArthur has written,

“What is our responsibility? The answer is in Ps. 119:130; “The unfolding of Thy words gives light.” God’s words are unfolded to us first by discovery. Through diligent Bible study, we unfold or unwrap God’s truth. We discover that meditation with a view to applying the truth deepens its impact. Discovery and meditation, combined bring the brightest light of illumination to our hearts.”[5]

Hard study is not Spirit-quenching. It is quite the opposite, it is Spirit illumined and Spirit blessed.

 

Clarity Derived from the Spirit: Illumination of the Expositor

From the Pulpit to the Pew

Illumination is necessary for the expositor in his study, but this is only part of the influence that the Spirit has upon His Word. It needs to be acknowledged that no matter how talented the expositor may be, the reception of the message is dependent upon the Spirit’s work in illuminating the hearts and minds of those listening.

Sermons preached have little effect upon dead ears unless the Spirit moves to open up the hearer to the truths expressed in His Word. Although the preacher of the Word needs to be diligent and faithful to prepare a thoroughly biblical exposition of the text and assemble it into a sermon that includes application of the Word, this alone is not enough. We cannot forget that the Gospels refer to the disciples coming away from the words of Jesus four times with the phrase “did not understand” (Mk 9:32; Lk 9:45; Jn 8:27; 10:6) and multiple times the crowds were confused at the words of Jesus. Illumination is not a matter of intelligence, it is a matter of spiritual enablement.

For the pastor proclaiming the Word in the pulpit, the Spirit gives clarity to the hearers in His act of illumination of their hearts and minds to His Word. When we step into the pulpit if we are centered on the Word, dependent upon the Spirit and have been with God in our study, we will have the confidence of God.
When Christ is exalted and the message of the cross is declared from the pulpit with prayer, passion, and precision, there is power. Power because the preacher is not depending upon his own strength. Power because the preacher believes what he is preaching is the fragrance of life to life, and death to death (2Cor 2:16). Power because the preacher has labored in the study and has come away having encountered the risen Lord in the pages of the living Word. When this type of preacher steps behind the pulpit, God moves through the Spirit using some or all of these means to accomplish His purpose.

Steve Lawson has said,

“Both literally and figuratively, the preacher should always be pointing to the biblical text. This Word-centered focus in the pulpit is the defining mark of all true expositors. Those who preach and teach the Word are to be so deeply rooted and grounded in the Scriptures that they never depart from them, ever directing themselves as well as their listeners to its truths. Biblical preaching should be just that—biblical—and all who stand in the pulpit must show an unwavering, even relentless, commitment to the Scripture itself. As a practicing physician knows and prescribes medicine, so every preacher should be ever studying, learning, and dispensing heavy doses of the healing balm of God’s Word to all his patients. Whatever the ailment, there is but one cure for the soul—the Word of God applied by the Spirit of God to the human heart.”[6]

Brothers, don’t allow poor theology and hyper-emotionalism hijack from our churches the biblical ministry of the Holy Spirit!

[1] John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1990), 37-8
[2] C. H. Spurgeon, An All-Round Ministry (n.p., 1900;  reprint, Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1994), 322.

[3] E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, paperback ed. 1972), 7.

[4] Cited in I.D.E. Thomas, A Puritan Golden Treasury (Carlisle, Pa.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977), 192.

[5] John MacArthur Jr. Rediscovering Expository Preaching ( Dallas, Tex.: Word Publishing, 1992), 115.
[6] Steven J. Lawson, Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003), 81-2.

Prayer and the Power of God

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

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“To know God as the sovereign disposer of all good, inviting us to present our requests, and yet not to approach or ask of him, were so far from availing us, that it were just as if one told of a treasure were to allow it to remain buried in the ground.” —John Calvin

The sinfulness of man requires the power of God to overcome our nature, bringing us to Christ and setting us free from our sins, removing us from the kingdom of darkness and placing us into the kingdom of God, adopting us as sons of God and joint heirs with Christ, establishing both our ability to stand before the righteous throne of Almighty God as well as establishing our right to do so by virtue of Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to our account. Therefore, our prayers are heard and answered upon this basis, seeing that God has opened up the doors of heaven, and by virtue of the cross of Jesus has welcomed us in.

In this post, I would like to briefly focus upon four prayer types: 1) Adoration and worship; 2) Thanksgiving; 3) Confession; and 4) Supplication and Petition. The first two I’ll merge together and only briefly touch on them. I want to focus more on Confession and Supplication/Petition as it relates to the Power of God in Prayer.

Adoration/Worship and Thanksgiving

The first two prayer types are prayers of response. When we pray with thanksgiving and adoration, we are responding to the acts of God which reflect his power to redeem, provide, create and sustain.

  • Adoration and Worship – Exodus 15
  • Thanksgiving – Psalm 138

In your life God has shown you his mighty power, whether it has been through salvation, provision, guidance, providential care, healing or some other way. Does your prayer life reflect this?

Confession

Confession is made with the belief that:

  • We have an omniscient God who knows our sin and we agree with him that we have transgressed his law. Prov. 5:21; Ps 51:3.
  • We have sinned against our holy God who cannot look upon sin and is just in punishing our iniquity. Ps 51:4, 11.
  • We have a merciful God who can remove the dark stain of sin through the blood of Christ’s substitutionary death upon the cross. Ps 51:7-10.

Some people, even Christians, live with the awful burden of past sins that they believe are unforgiven and unforgivable, even by God.

First Corinthians 6:9-11 is the hope of Christ and the power of God demonstrated to the worst of sinners. It says,

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Take your eyes off of your sin and put them on Christ!

Supplication and Petition

Supplications and petitions can be placed roughly into two categories:Personal prayer needs (for self and others) and Prayer for the Kingdom of God.

Biblical examples of personal prayers include:

  • For food (Matt 6:11)
  • For healing/trials (2Cor 12:7)
  • For persecution relief (Acts 12:6-19)
  • For pain and suffering (Psalms of David, Job)
  • For wisdom (James 1:5)

Prayer for the Work of the Kingdom, including:

  • For open doors of opportunity (Col 4:3)
  • For strength in times of persecution (Acts 4:29)
  • For boldness in the face of opposition (Acts 4:29)

In the area of supplications and petitions we can become reluctant to pray as we should. We need to answer the questions: Can he answer? and Will he answer? Consider the words of Jesus himself:

“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mk 11:22-24)

“And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”” (Mk 9:23)

Do we use, “If the Lord wills” as an excuse for our lack of faith? Many things the Lord wills, but we often fail to ask (James 4:2). Sometimes we can be so afraid of falling into the error and heresy of prosperity gospel preachers that we fall short of a full dependence on God in prayer. We sanitize the words of Jesus and our prayer becomes anemic. Consider these verses:

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Heb 11:6)

“ And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matt 21:22)

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:17-18)

Do these verses cause you to imagine what God could do? Do they set your heart racing? Or do you find yourself doubting, and adding exceptions? The ability for your prayers to be answered is not so much about who you are, as much as it is about who you believe God is!

Setting Our Heart Aflame For Missions

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

  • “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” — William Carey, who is called the father of modern missions

  • “If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?” — David Livingstone

  • “Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell.” — C.T. Studd

  • “Someone asked Will the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved? It is more a question with me whether we — who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not — can be saved.” — Charles Spurgeon

  • “Missions is the overflow of our delight in God because missions is the overflow of God’s delight in being God.” — John Piper

  • “People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives … and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” — Nate Saint, missionary martyr

  • “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” — John Stott

  • “It is not in our choice to spread the gospel or not. It is our death if we do not.” — Peter Taylor Forsyth

Biblical Prayer and Fasting

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

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In his book on fasting entitled A Hunger for God, John Piper wrote, “What we hunger for most, we worship.” I put that quote up on Facebook, and some of you wrote that it made you think of food. You hunger most for food. We laugh, but that is too true, isn’t it? “What we hunger for most, we worship.”

Some hunger for sexual desires, like Amnon in 2Sam 13, who longed so much for his beautiful half-sister Tamar that he became physically ill until he fulfilled his lustful desire. Some hunger for possessions, like King Ahab in 1Kings 21, who longed for Naboth’s vineyard, but he wouldn’t sell it to him. So his wicked wife Jezebel had him murdered and Ahab was fulfilled. Some hunger for marriage, like King Solomon, who according to 1Kings 11:3, gathered for himself 700 wives and 300 concubines or secondary wives not caring about the fact that they were pagans who led his heart astray from the Lord.

So Piper is describing what the Bible so clearly describes, “What we hunger for most, we worship.”

But we need to be careful here, don’t we? Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 8:8, “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” So the issue is never what we eat or what we do not eat or whether we fast or whether we do not fast. The issue for Jesus always is our heart, is it not? So then, why should we even entertain fasting? Why have we set aside food to dedicate ourselves to prayer instead of eating? It is because fasting moves our attention off of the gift of food and on to the Giver.

Again, John Piper states for us the danger of forgetting this distinction and the danger for our souls if we do not stop and examine ourselves and our hungers:

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18–20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, “as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). In another place he said, “The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). “The pleasures of this life” and “the desires for other things”—these are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.

You see, fasting doesn’t commend us to God. But it is a tool for us to test our heart attitudes about God. It does test our love and our hunger for God to see if we love Him more than these other things. I want us to look at the proper setting and definition of fasting.

Jesus’ general principle is found in Matthew 6:1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

Previously in his great Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, Jesus gives us three examples of ways that we can be found guilty of practicing our faith for others to see us and admire us:

Giving (vv. 2-4) or our outward conduct

Praying (vv. 5-15) or our upward conversations

Fasting (vv. 16-18) or our inward cravings

Matt 6:16-18:“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

So, What Is Biblical Fasting?

Simply out, fasting is to refrain for food for a period of time. Biblical fasting is always accompanied with prayer. Now, I mean biblical fasting here, because several religions practice fasting, and people fast for medical and other purely non-religious reasons. Fasting in the Bible is required only in the Old Testament, for the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29-34; 23:26-32). This “self-affliction” was to accompany the offering of sacrifices for the nation of Israel. It was a national day of mourning for their sins. As such, eating was inappropriate. Since Jesus Christ has become our final sacrifice (Heb 10:12), we do not need a Day of Atonement. Therefore, the only obligatory day of fasting has been removed. So, fasting is not required by God.

Why did people in Bible fast?

Although there was only one obligatory day to fast, voluntary fasting was (and is) acceptable to God if done with the right heart attitude. Some examples of the reasons people fasted in the Bible:

  • When Mourning: 2Sam 3:35. David fasted after the death of Abner.
  • When in Grave Danger: Esther 4:16. Esther asked for prayer and fasting before she approached the king.
  • When Repentant: Jon 3:5, 7. The Ninevites repented before God in sackcloth and ashes for their sins, and God forgave them.
  • When Facing Important Decisions: Acts 13:2-3. Before the church at Antioch sent away Paul and Barnabas for their mission trip.
  • When Facing Intense Trials: Matt 4:2. As Jesus prepared to begin preaching, he was led into the wilderness where he fasted, prayed for 40 days and was tempted by Satan.

How Should We Approach Fasting?

First, remember that fasting is no obligatory, but voluntary. We are nowhere commanded to fast, although we may do so when we desire. The Pharisees fasted 2 times a week (Lk 18:12). But this was a tradition of men, not a requirement of God. And remember this important distinction–if you are tempted to become puffed up in your fasting, that of the two men in the Temple that day, one fasted and the other went home justified! Fasting does not justify us!!

Second, we must fast with the right intentions. Matt 6:16 shows us that there are some who practice religious activities to be seen by others. If you fast, ask yourself why you are doing it? If you fast, are you trying to look normal, or are you letting yourself look haggard so people will ask you about it? The Pharisees loved the attention they received. They even went so far as to rub ash on their faces to look more sullen and sickly. This can be the same temptation with all our spiritual disciplines. Do you do them to be seen by men? If you fast, are you trying to earn God’s favor? Fasting is not a bargaining chip for God. It’s not “I skipped food for three days Lord. YOU HAVE TO HEAR ME NOW!” Fasting doesn’t mean that if I give up meat, God will do what I say.

Finally, when we fast, we should see it as an opportunity to put all of our focus upon God, and not as an opportunity to pull attention to ourselves. You see, Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees drew attention to themselves with their sullen look. Instead, fasting ought to be seen as a time to look at the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We can forget about God sometimes, and when we fast, we take our eyes off of the gift of food and cast our eyes toward heaven to find communion with our Lord. This is why the Pharisees were such hypocrites. They took something which should have given God attention and used it for their own attention. The same is being done today.

Some Considerations regarding Fasting:

Fasting does not need to be a fast from food only. Some of you may not be able to fast from food for medical reasons. Perhaps you are weakened from sickness or you need to take medications or your doctor has said, “No fasting.” That is ok. God knows how weak our frame are!

But fasting is not only described in terms of food. If you look at 1Cor 7:5, Paul refers to a different kind of fast for married couples, a fasting from marital relations. Notice that this fasting referred to here is for a set time and for the purpose of prayer. It should be short and purposeful by agreement of both so as not to give an opportunity for temptation for either the husband or the wife.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

“Fasting if we conceive of it truly, must not … be confined to the question of food and drink; fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose. There are many bodily functions which are right and normal and perfectly legitimate, but which for special peculiar reasons in certain circumstances should be controlled. That is fasting.”

This means that food may not be a big deal for you, but perhaps TV or internet distracts you from the Lord and prayer. Maybe its sports or something else.

Remember Abraham? Look at Genesis 22:1-2. What did Abraham love? What did he hunger for? That promised son Isaac. And God gave him a good gift in Isaac. But now God asked him to sacrifice what he loved. Did he love God more than Isaac? Abraham set his eyes to obey the Lord. He took Isaac up the mountain and he bound him and took the knife to slay his beloved boy. But look at vv. 11-12. “now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son…” Abraham’s love for God was greater than his love for Isaac.

Now let me ask you, dear reader, what do you hunger for most? Who’s in charge? Is it your hunger or God? Hunger and thirst for Christ above all else.

Being About the Father’s Business (Repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Keep about your work. Do not flinch because the lion roars; do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs; do not fool away your time chasing the devil’s rabbits. Do your work. Let liars lie, let sectarians quarrel, let the devil do his worst; but see to it nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work God has given you

He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you to defend your character. He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood about yourself which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do those things, you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord

Keep at your work. Let your aim be as steady as a star. You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered, wounded, and rejected; you may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends, and despised  and rejected of men. But see to it with steadfast determination, with unfaltering zeal, that you pursue the great purpose of your life and object of your being until at last you can say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”–Author Unknown