Preaching

 Someone is shouting:

“Clear a path in the desert!
    Make a straight road
    for the Lord our God.

Isaiah 40.3 CEV)

These verses of course refer to the ministry of John the Baptist.  But they can also apply to us each week as we step into the pulpit.  Just as John the  Baptist was to point others to Jesus, so we should be pointing others to Jesus when we step into the pulpit.  It is not a matter of us showing how smart, spiritual or special we are.  it should be all about making a straight path to discover Jesus.

Here are a few questions I think we should spend some time thinking about.

When you preach who is your audience?

Who are you trying to lead others to discover?

Are you interested in your audience discovering what you know or whom you know?

Who leads the ministry?

1 [a]Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.

ACTS 13:1-3 (NASB)

We see here a group of men who gathered for prayer.  They were prophets and teachers.  It tells us they were ministering to the Lord.  And upon fasting the Holy Spirit spoke to them and they set apart Barnabas and Saul (Paul).  What are the principles we should see here for our own ministry?

• They were together for Prayer and fasting.  As pastors and leaders we need to set aside time for Prayer and fasting.  If we know and believe that the church, God's people belong to Him.  Then we better be spending time in prayer and fasting.  God will speak when we do this.

• God calls men to step forward for His purpose.  God will call men to step forward to lead.  It is exciting to hear the from the Lord.  "Set apart" so and so.  We need to trust that God is working in the hearts of future leaders.  He knows their strengths and weaknesses.  He is the one who needs to do the calling.

• God has a plan for ministry that we may not see or understand.  Antioch was a growing church and they had many things going on.  But God had his sights on Barnabas and Saul for another place.  Don't assume that you know what God is doing.  He may have a plan that we cannot see and we may not fully understand His methods.  Trust God with His ministry.

Be careful fellow leaders that we don't try to manage God and His Kingdom without His Spirit moving us.

Our confidence and competence

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (NASB)

One of the great dangers for leaders is thinking ourselves to be adequate and feeling the need to tell others about it.  First, we must realize that our confidence should never be in ourselves but in the God of Grace who has called us.  As Paul says it here in 2 Corinthians, are adequacy come from God.  I have been a pastor now for a long time and I have learned a lot about people, Human nature and what happens when people proudly figure they can do this.  However, our tendency as leaders is to say to others I know what I am doing or I know what we need, placing our competency in ourselves rather than in Him.

Second, we must remember that while God is the same today and forever, does not mean that He may decided to do things differently than what He has done before.  Be careful about thinking you know what to do because God it that way last time.  He also has said in His word that I am about to do a new thing that will amaze everyone.  Don't second guess God.

Third, remember to rely on the Holy Spirit to know what God is doing and what He will do in the future.  God is an awesome God who will do things through the Spirit.  I have been amazed and caught off guard because I moved ahead to quickly before God.  Just when I think I know what I am doing God comes in and reminds me this is His church and He has a plan for it that is beyond what I can think or imagine.