More than ever, the church needs preachers who genuinely believe in the Holy Spirit’s power and are willing to experience His leading in their preaching.
George Whitefield, who was influential in the Great Awakening revivals during the late 1700s, was one such preacher. He said we need preachers who are:
Relying on the Holy Spirit is essential to preach the Gospel with authority. We live in spiritually dark days when people in American churches continually learn but do not grow in knowledge (2 Tim. 3:6-7). A preacher’s calling is not only to communicate the text and knowledge of the Bible but to allow the Holy Spirit to work through it to bring holiness to people’s lives. Servants can accomplish this feat only if they rely on Him in their sermon preparation and delivery.
The Spirit gives us knowledge and wisdom as we study the Scriptures and the power to communicate the Gospel effectively. Without His help, our preaching will be ineffective.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active. The Bible is not lifeless but full of power. When we read it, the Spirit brings forth understanding and application. The same is true when we preach or teach the Bible. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to make the Word live and active in our lives and those who hear us preach.
The Holy Spirit is the one who opens our hearts to understand and apply its message. He will use a preacher’s private study to prod his heart, calling him to repentance and holiness. The preacher must spend adequate time looking deep into his own life and allowing God’s Word to change him so that he may not sin (Psalm 119:11). Then he will be better able to take the message to his congregants.
Without the Holy Spirit’s help, a sermon is nothing more than a well-prepared speech. In his book Expository Exultation, John Piper explains that a miracle happens during preaching: The Holy Spirit awakens the preacher’s soul to rejoice over the text. As a result, he cannot help but tell the people of the Bible’s valuable, beautiful, and glorious truth. Piper gives a two-word definition of Holy Spirit-enabled preaching:
Preaching is more than elegant rhetoric; it is the discipline of celebrating the trust of Scripture after the Holy Spirit has awakened our hearts to its true meaning. We become ecstatic over what we have found in the text, and it fills our hearts with joy to share it with our people. A full mind or inspired heart will not bring change beyond the preacher’s life—but a Spirit-inspired sermon will.
The Holy Spirit brings the application to the preacher, giving him the right way to apply the text for action, comfort, rebuke, or instruction. Without the Spirit’s guidance, the preacher would only provide worldly wisdom leading to behavior modification or moralistic living.
Delivering a sermon to a crowd of people is unnerving and can cause fear in anyone. However, preaching is not just another form of speaking—it is about engaging people with God through the proclamation of His Word, empowered by His Spirit. Preaching happens at the intersection of a preacher’s public and private lives; he takes what he has come to know and experience with the Holy Spirit in private and publicly exposes it for the edification of God’s people.
The Lord’s presence allows His servants to speak unashamedly and unapologetically. The apostles preached boldly as the church expanded—not because of their skills or strength, but because of the Holy Spirit’s presence (Acts 4:31). The Apostle Paul even requested that the saints pray for him to have boldness (Eph. 6:19), knowing that this was something only God could provide.
The preacher’s mind and tongue are under God’s divine control. While word choice, inflection, vocabulary, and tone may appear to be up to the preacher’s volition, God can and will work through them. God gives clarity of mind and crispness of speech and prompts thoughts in the preacher’s life when he stands up to proclaim the Gospel and the Bible’s truth. God influences the act of speaking on His behalf as it is being done. A preacher should work on his skills or rhetoric, but never as a substitute for God’s anointing presence in the pulpit.
Therefore, we conclude that preaching is not preaching if it lacks the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God uses His Spirit to bring the Word to life, inspire relevant application, and embolden the preacher. Without dependence on the Holy Spirit, a person merely speaks and shares uninspired wisdom. We must not miss God’s heart by missing His Spirit in our preaching and preparation.
[1] Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Ceuntury Revival, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 2001. 16.
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George Whitefield, who was influential in the Great Awakening revivals during the late 1700s, was one such preacher. He said we need preachers who are:
Relying on the Holy Spirit is essential to preach the Gospel with authority. We live in spiritually dark days when people in American churches continually learn but do not grow in knowledge (2 Tim. 3:6-7). A preacher’s calling is not only to communicate the text and knowledge of the Bible but to allow the Holy Spirit to work through it to bring holiness to people’s lives. Servants can accomplish this feat only if they rely on Him in their sermon preparation and delivery.
The Spirit gives us knowledge and wisdom as we study the Scriptures and the power to communicate the Gospel effectively. Without His help, our preaching will be ineffective.
The Holy Spirit brings the Bible to life
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active. The Bible is not lifeless but full of power. When we read it, the Spirit brings forth understanding and application. The same is true when we preach or teach the Bible. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to make the Word live and active in our lives and those who hear us preach.
The Holy Spirit is the one who opens our hearts to understand and apply its message. He will use a preacher’s private study to prod his heart, calling him to repentance and holiness. The preacher must spend adequate time looking deep into his own life and allowing God’s Word to change him so that he may not sin (Psalm 119:11). Then he will be better able to take the message to his congregants.
The Holy Spirit inspires the application
Without the Holy Spirit’s help, a sermon is nothing more than a well-prepared speech. In his book Expository Exultation, John Piper explains that a miracle happens during preaching: The Holy Spirit awakens the preacher’s soul to rejoice over the text. As a result, he cannot help but tell the people of the Bible’s valuable, beautiful, and glorious truth. Piper gives a two-word definition of Holy Spirit-enabled preaching:
- Expository: you say what you see in the book.
- Exultation: you savor and leap over what you’ve seen in the book.
Preaching is more than elegant rhetoric; it is the discipline of celebrating the trust of Scripture after the Holy Spirit has awakened our hearts to its true meaning. We become ecstatic over what we have found in the text, and it fills our hearts with joy to share it with our people. A full mind or inspired heart will not bring change beyond the preacher’s life—but a Spirit-inspired sermon will.
The Holy Spirit brings the application to the preacher, giving him the right way to apply the text for action, comfort, rebuke, or instruction. Without the Spirit’s guidance, the preacher would only provide worldly wisdom leading to behavior modification or moralistic living.
The Holy Spirit emboldens the preacher
Delivering a sermon to a crowd of people is unnerving and can cause fear in anyone. However, preaching is not just another form of speaking—it is about engaging people with God through the proclamation of His Word, empowered by His Spirit. Preaching happens at the intersection of a preacher’s public and private lives; he takes what he has come to know and experience with the Holy Spirit in private and publicly exposes it for the edification of God’s people.
The Lord’s presence allows His servants to speak unashamedly and unapologetically. The apostles preached boldly as the church expanded—not because of their skills or strength, but because of the Holy Spirit’s presence (Acts 4:31). The Apostle Paul even requested that the saints pray for him to have boldness (Eph. 6:19), knowing that this was something only God could provide.
The preacher’s mind and tongue are under God’s divine control. While word choice, inflection, vocabulary, and tone may appear to be up to the preacher’s volition, God can and will work through them. God gives clarity of mind and crispness of speech and prompts thoughts in the preacher’s life when he stands up to proclaim the Gospel and the Bible’s truth. God influences the act of speaking on His behalf as it is being done. A preacher should work on his skills or rhetoric, but never as a substitute for God’s anointing presence in the pulpit.
Therefore, we conclude that preaching is not preaching if it lacks the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. God uses His Spirit to bring the Word to life, inspire relevant application, and embolden the preacher. Without dependence on the Holy Spirit, a person merely speaks and shares uninspired wisdom. We must not miss God’s heart by missing His Spirit in our preaching and preparation.
[1] Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Ceuntury Revival, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 2001. 16.
The post The Holy Spirit’s role in Sermon Preparation and Delivery appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...