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-56-
God Hath Spoken
The preacher of the Word of God is to be heard whether his style, or his voice, his scholarship, or his enthusiasm pleases us. The truth of God is to be heard whether it is delivered by one leaping from chandelier to chandelier, or whether it is read. God never forbade preachers to write their sermons, and he never forbade preachers to hang from a chandelier. Ezekiel was commanded to eat cow manure, and Isaiah walked naked and barefoot for 3 years (Ezek. 4:l l7; Is. 20:1 4). It is the truth that God is going to hold us accountable for, and it is a wicked people that rejects it because they do not like the way the preacher is dressed. They have no right to ignore truth because the preacher is not exciting.
Someone may argue that unless the preacher bellows, he does not have the Spirit, but instead of cultivating a critical attitude, the people of God need to be taught to pray for the minister. A preacher once fell asleep in his study and dreamed that the Lord's Day had arrived and the church was crowded to suffocation.
The sermon was accompanied by a great moving of the Spirit of God. When the minister began to reflect upon his abilities, an angel appeared and told him that he had no reason to gloat. The rewards for the changes in the many lives did not belong to him. "What do you mean they are not mine?" the preacher asked. The angel replied, "The old man who sits on those pulpit stairs and prays for you while you preach: they are his."
The people of God need to be taught to receive the Word with affection and wisdom suitable for a message from God concerning the truth of God. God speaks through men: to refuse a Gospel sermon that a preacher faithfully proclaims is, humanly speaking, to refuse the God of the Gospel. "He that receiveth you receiveth me," Jesus said, "and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me" (Matt. 10:40).
The Hearer and the Word
People need to be taught to receive God's Word reverently. Sometimes when truth hits us, it is so profound, so striking to us, that we chuckle about it. That is fine, but I am reminded of a woman that used to attend our church years ago. She was not a member, yet nearly every week, she would say to me "You sure stepped on my toes!" Then she would go home, and live like a devil all week. Remember the words of Adam Clarke: "He who does not listen to obey, listens to reject and to disobey."
We should receive the Word of God reverently, with godly fear, and we ought to receive it obediently, willing and eager to obey. "Speak, Lord," said young Samuel, "for Thy servant heareth." People who are not fearful of disobeying the Word of God, do not consider the Scriptures to be the Word of God. They find no value in them. The Bible is either the Word of God, or it is not; but if it is, "Take heed how ye hear."
Listen Carefully
People talk about business before public worship; they talk about business after worship; their minds are scarcely held on track during the worship service. We need to remember some things.
First, we are about to hear the Word of God. It is not the "World News Roundup"—it is the Word of the Creator. We ought to give attention and to listen for our life, because it is for our life. We ought to "buy the truth and sell it not."
Second, we ought to labor to keep the truth of God because if we are not careful, i.e. full of care, we will be care less, and although we forget it, we are still held accountable for it. Jeremiah testified, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them." The Word of God was "digested" by him, and assimilated until it became a part of him. The psalmist testified that the word was sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, and that it was more to be desired than gold; "yea, than much fine gold."
Let nothing escape. Solomon says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence." In the Hebrew, the command is doubled for emphasis—"Keep, keep," i.e. set double guards. A jailer used to be called "the keep." The jail itself used to be called "the keep." During the Middle Ages, the primary tower in a castle where people could go in time of danger was called "the keep."
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). If a man will keep his heart, he will not fall prey to the adulteress, to money and to possessions, or to any other vice that plagues and blights life. Listen carefully, "full of care," because this is the Word of God.
People need to be taught how to fight distracting thoughts and drowsiness. The Puritans used to keep people awake during worship by means of a long pole. On one end was a feather. When a woman began to snooze, she would be tickled under her nose until she awoke. When a man fell asleep, he would be hit with the other end of the pole. We, too, ought to fight distracting thoughts and drowsiness, not only in preaching, but also in prayer.
When we bow our heads as someone leads the congregation in prayer, our minds can be kept from running about the streets, and at home indulging in business and pleasures, if we remember that we have a duty to help the brother to the throne of grace. We need to be praying in our hearts as he prays publicly for us.