Restoring the Dignity of Preaching

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Thesis: The audience will observe some practical things that will help a preacher and his preaching.
Introduction:
A. Ezekiel, the priest who later was called to be a prophet.
1. Began his ministry at the end of history we call “Judah Alone.”
2. He was deported along with Judah into Babylonian Captivity in 597 BC.
3. About five years later he began to prophecy.
4. While prophesying, Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem by storm, destroying it in about 586 BC.
5. Shortly thereafter, Ezekiel penned the words found in Ezekiel 37:1-14.
a. Read the text.
b. To this point Ezekiel had been a prophet of doom and gloom, but now he talks of restoration and revival.
c. God sends Ezekiel a vision—the ancient battlefield with sun bleached bones.
d. A voice breaks the silence and God says, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
e. Now notice Ezekiel’s faith—“O Lord God, thou knowest.”
B. By way of our study together we want to discuss the subject of restoration or revival—especially as it relates to preachers and preaching.
C. The topic assigned is “Restoring the Dignity of Preaching.” Let’s begin by defining those terms.
1. “Restore”—to bring back to an original condition.
2. “Dignity”—the quality or state of deserving esteem or respect.
3. “Preaching”—to give religious or moral instruction by way of a sermon.
D. So, for the next few minutes let’s make some very practical observations that will help us to restore the dignity of preaching. If I may appropriate the words of the LORD, I would like to approach this lesson in the form of a question—“Can these bones live?” Then I would like to answer it with the words of Ezekiel, “O Lord God, thou knowest….”

Discussion:
Can these bones live? O Lord God, thou knowest that these bones can live if…

I. PREACHERS WILL REMEMBER WHY THEY PREACH.
A. I want to preach so that I can tell people the story of Jesus (Acts 8:5ff; cf. 1 Cor. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:5).
B. I want to preach because I want to be part of the church’s mission—to save souls (1 Cor. 1:21).
C. I want to preach because I want to encourage people (Acts 20:32).
D. I want to preach because I want people to know of the greatness of God (Eph. 3:8-10; Eph. 3:21; Isa. 43:25).
E. I want to preach because I’m selfish (Rm. 10:15).
F. I want to preach because all of my heroes were/are preachers (1 Cor. 9:16).

II. PREACHERS WILL GIVE CHURCH MEMBERS SOMETHING TO HOLD
ON TO.
A. I want people to be challenged to think and change when they hear my preaching (Acts 17:11).
B. I want people to have solutions to their problems (Acts 2:38).
C. I want people to know that my presentation is one of compassion (Eph. 4:15).
D. I want people to see that my preaching is simple and direct (Mk. 1:22).
E. I want people to observe that my preaching is clear and understandable (Acts 7:51-60).

III. PREACHERS WILL SATURATE THEIR SERMONS WITH SCRIPTURE.
A. Biblical preaching has a distinct ring—it’s full of Bible. The Word of God is distinctive from the word of man (1 Pt. 4:11).
B. Growth in the local church requires more than “froth” in the pulpit. Apostolic preachers were sent forth “preaching the word” and the “things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:5,12).
C. Religious groups and some churches of Christ are hearing motivational speeches, but not distinctive sermons.
D. Bible preaching is not to be equated with negative preaching. It’s easier to be against something constantly. We have enough pessimistic, sour, and unloving men who preach. Let’s all preach the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).
E. A pioneer preacher was asked how to become a preacher, to which he responded, “Study the Bible intently and when you are filled with it, then go proclaim it with fervor.”
F. “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (Jas. 3:1).

IV. PREACHERS AND ELDERS WILL LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER.
A. Here’s where I would like to get very practical.
B. There are some specific areas in which elders and preachers can help one another, in turn, this restores the dignity of preaching.
C. Some things for elders to consider:
1. Elders must not major in preacher control, but preacher training.
2. Elders should be counselors and not criticizers.
3. Elders should pray for their preacher(s).
4. Elders should communicate frequently with their preacher(s).
5. Elders should be honest with their preacher(s).
6. Elders should be strong enough not to allow critical members to make the life of the preacher(s) miserable.
7. Elders should include the preacher(s) in planning and decision making.
8. Elders should be open and responsive to the preacher(s) suggestions.
9. Elders should not resent the preacher(s) preaching on the eldership.
10. Elders family members should not become crosswise with the preacher’s family.
11. Elders should back the preaching of the preacher(s).
12. Elders should bear some of the load of the preacher(s).
13. Elders should show the preacher(s) appreciation.
14. Elders should trust the preacher(s).
15. Elders should be flexible with the preacher(s).
16. Elders should insist that their preacher(s) be normal.
17. Elders should see that the preacher(s) is adequately supported.
a. Good salary
b. An annuity or retirement plan
c. Pay ½ of social security
d. Pay for medical insurance
e. Provide a housing allowance
f. Pay tuition for enrichment
g. Give a bonus
h. Send on mission trips
i. Send to lectureships and seminars
j. Pay for his extra services
18. Elders should shield the preacher(s) from criticism.
D. Some things for preachers to consider:
1. Preachers should be fair and honest with the elders.
2. Preachers should be understanding of the elders.
3. Preachers should cooperate with the elders.
4. Preachers should pray for the elders
5. Preachers should assist in the planning and execution of those plans.
6. Preachers should faithfully declare the gospel.
7. Preachers should commend the elders (publicly).
8. Preachers should be a source of information for the elders.
9. Preachers should defend the elders.
10. Preachers owe an unreserved commitment to the local church.
11. Preachers should back the elders decisions.
12. Preachers should work as teachers and not enforcers.
13. Preachers should so live and labor that the elders will hate to see you go.

V. PREACHERS AND CHURCH MEMBERS WILL LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER.
A. Again, I want to deal with the practical.
B. Here are some suggestions for members:
1. Consider the preacher(s) as a part of the family and not a hireling.
2. Involve the preacher(s) and his family in your lives.
3. Remember that preacher(s) are human and sometimes are not always at their best.
4. Don’t be so quick to reject the preacher(s) personality, family, preaching, and suggestions.
C. Here are some suggestions for preachers:
1. Be involved in the lives of the members.
2. Don’t spend all your time in the office.
3. Encourage your family to get involved in the works of the church.
4. When you’re rejected, remember that even God, Jesus, God’s prophets, John the Baptist, and the apostles were all rejected—you’re in good company.
D. Preachers and members should remember all that they have in common (Psa. 133:1-3):
1. There’s a common Savior.
2. There’s a common mission.
3. There’s a common purpose.
4. There’s a common love.
5. There’s a common home.

Conclusion:
A. Can these bones live? O Lord God, thou knowest that these bones can live.
B. Preaching is hard work. But tell me a worthwhile job that isn’t. Preaching is the toughest job on earth, but it’s also the greatest.
C. Consider this poem:
Why I Preach

The world is lost in sin,
That’s why I preach
The Gospel must be preached,
That’s why I preach
The Lord commanded preaching,
That’s why I preach
There is power for change in preaching,
That’ why I preach.
The Son of God was a preacher,
That’s why I preach.
The church needs preachers,
That’s why I preach.
The preacher has beautiful feet,
That’s why I preach.
The Lord has given me a talent,
That’s why I preach.
The laborer is worthy of his hire,
That’s why I preach.
The results of preaching last eternally,
That’s why I preach.
The Lord rewards faithful preaching,
That’s why I preach.
There’s nothing else that satisfies my soul,
That’s why I preach.
There is no greater challenge,
That’s why I preach.

The Devil's Weapons of Mass Destruction

Text: 1 John 2:12-17
Thesis: I want the listener to be aware of some of the devil’s tools to get man off the strait and narrow.


Introduction:
A. Read the text—I read this merely to serve as a backdrop of our study tonight.
B. Our enemy, the devil, is real. By way of introduction tonight I want to observe:
1. From a negative standpoint:
a. The devil’s debut—The best I can tell, Satan is most likely a fallen angel (Lk. 10:18; Job 1:6; cf. Job 2:1; Rev. 12:9).

b.
The devil’s destructiveness—Satan is still powerful today (Lk. 9:12; cf. Eph. 6:16).
c. The devil’s deception—Satan will flat out lie to you (Jn. 8:44).
2. From a positive standpoint:
a. The devil’s defeat—The devil is being defeated (1 Jn. 3:8; cf. Heb. 2:14).
b. The devil’s departure—The devil is a coward, and if you will stand up to him, then he will leave you (Mt. 4:1-11).
C. Now, let’s shift gears. Tonight I want to talk about “weapons of mass destruction.” I read a report, just this week, put out by the M.D.A.A. that said, “Terrorists and rogue nations around the world now have the capability to strike the United States with ballistic missiles carrying weapons of mass destruction.”
D. The threat of weapons of mass destruction, such as: chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or large explosive weapons was in part a reason for our engaging in war with Iraq. Specific items such as the “mustard blistering agent,” “V series nerve agent,” and “G series nerve agents,” “anthrax,” and that’s just chemical W.M.D.’s.
E. These are not the weapons of mass destruction that I want to talk about tonight. Tonight, I want to talk about “The Devil’s Weapons of Mass Destruction.”


Discussion:
The devil uses . . .


I. ANXIETY AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
A. Anxiety is a tool of the devil and it robs Christians of productivity.
1. “And what does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow, brother, of its sorrow; but, ah! it empties today of its strength. It does not make you escape the evil, it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. It does not bless tomorrow, and it robs today. For every day has its own burden. God gives us power to bear all the arrows of his making; but he does not give us the power to bear the sorrows of our own making, which the anticipation of sorrow most assuredly is.”
2. Jesus said, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Mt. 6:27).
3. Worry does nothing for the Christian. It’s a lot like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but you never go anywhere.
B. What to do when you are suffering from anxiety—to the point that you feel like giving up:
1. Don’t give up, but fess up.
a. Sometimes anxiety is brought on by sin. If that’s the reason, then you need to remember there is hope for you.
b. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).
2. Don’t give up, but look up.
a. Great things happen when you pray. The entire Godhead listens (Mt. 6:9; 1 Tm. 2:5; Rm. 8:26-27).
b. The power of God is harnessed. God still works today by means of divine providence (Jas. 5).
3. Don’t give up, but cheer up.
a. I once read that a “sorrowful heart which manifests itself in a downcast countenance breaks the spirit of man; but a cheerful heart which shows itself in a smiling countenance lifts the spirit of man.”
b. If you have fessed up and looked up, then it’s time to cheer up.
c. Trust that God has listened to your supplications and that He will work in your life.
d. “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Prov. 15:13). “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth up the bones” (Prov. 17:22).
4. Don’t give up, but grow up.
a. When you have fessed up, looked up, and are cheered up, you are now ready to grow up. That’s what the spiritual life is about.
b. Paul said it this way, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
c. Peter said, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pt. 2:20).


II. INDIFFERNCE AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
A. If you recall your biblical history, After some seventy years of the Jerusalem captivity, Judah would return in three stages to rebuild the city.
1. The first group would be led back to Jerusalem by Zerubbabel and Jeshua. They would then rebuild and dedicate the temple.
2. The second group was led by Ezra. A great revival was experienced among the people at this time, led by Haggai and Zechariah the prophets.
3. The third group was led by Nehemiah. It was under his leadership that the walls were rebuilt.
B. Let’s consider some background material as it relates to the subject at hand.
1. Read Nehemiah 2:11-18.
2. It is amazing to me that as you continue reading this impressive book, that Judah was able to complete this task in just fifty-two short days (Neh. 6:15).
3. My question is, given what I know about the vastness of such a project, how did they do it? Nehemiah gives the answer, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6).
C. In connection with this, let’s read about some of those who helped in this great task.
1. Read Nehemiah 3:12—the women.
a. Where would the church of our Lord be without godly working women?
b. I think about Lydia in Acts 9. Priscilla in Acts 18. Phebe in Romans 16. Apphia in Philemon 1:2.
2. Read Nehemiah 3:20—the manner (earnestly).
a. Notice that word “earnestly” in the KJV. It is a word that signifies “burning” and therefore connotes “zeal.” In connection with that, I want us to notice a very interesting passage in Jeremiah.
b. It says, “Cursed [that gets my attention] be he [that stirs me up even more, because I don’t want to be the he] that doeth the work of the LORD [did you know that you can be subject of the anathema of God, while doing his work?]…” (Jer. 48:10). Now, let’s notice the marginal rendering in the KJV for a better understanding. It says, “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently….”
D. Words of commendation for the earnest workers of the church….
E. But there are exceptions.
1. Nehemiah 4:5—laziness.
2. Nehemiah 4:10—negativeness.
F. Ladies and Gentlemen, we would do well to take a dose of James 1:25. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work….” The last word there is not “word,” it is “work.”
G. Are you a diligent worker? Do you have a mind to work? Or are you indifferent? Brother Lipscomb once said, we are just to busy “playing at religion.” Why is that? Why are we so indifferent?
1. Sometimes we depend too much on others. But we need to bear our own weight.
2. We don’t distinguish between the work and worship of the church.


III. CONFUSION AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
A. Ill: “A teacher was handed the following note by one of her students: ‘Dear Teacher, Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it on Monday, we thought it was Sunday.’”
B. The religious world tries to confuse the masses. I think they are following the advice of H. Truman when he said, “If you can’t convince them, then confuse them.”
C. “One church is as good as another,” they say. “Your way of salvation is o.k. as long as mine is,” they say. “You’re o.k., I’m o.k.,” they say. “You can believe it that way, and I can believe it my way,” they say.
D. Here’s the problem, God says, “[I’m] not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33). God says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6). And God says, There is one body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, God (Eph. 4:4-6).


IV. TIME AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
A. Someone once said, “We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end.” Well, that’s the devil. He wants to catch us griping about our time while causing us to forget that one day, all time will end.
B. When the devil can’t convince us that there is no God, or that there is no plan for man, or that one plan is just as good as another. His next option is to convince us that we have all the time in the world to obey God—the problem is, we are believing that lie!
C. May God help us to “…to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psa. 90:12).
D. May He help us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16).


Conclusion:
A. The devil is attacking every day. He is the ultimate terrorist. Has he reached you with one of his many weapons of mass destruction?
B. There is a solution. Obedience and continual obedience to God’s Word.