Media Outreach

20.  The purpose of a sermon is to produce godly character in people’s lives.

There is a fundamental difference in aim between a lecturer and a preacher.  A lecturer explains a subject; a biblical preacher seeks character change in the hearts and lives of the listeners.  For example, a lecturer may explain botany, but a preacher is to “raise flowers.”  The minister is called to present the gospel in such a manner that lives are forever changed.

The purpose of preaching is to win the lost to Christ. The goal of a sermon is to persuade people.  The main purpose of a sermon is not simply to exegete a text correctly, but also to produce godly character in people’s lives.  We must begin with the correct end in mind.  The evangelist and the pastor are not called by God merely to motivate the audience, but also to activate them. As a result of the sermon, the congregation should live out the principles that were proposed in the message.

Have you ever stopped to think about the kind of life you are living—and more importantly, why? For example:

• Why do you live where you live?
• Why are you involved in your present kind of ministry?
• Why do you preach the way you preach?
• Why are you a pastor, missionary or evangelist?
• What about your family and friends?  What are they like?

If we are going to build anything to last, we must anchor it with a solid foundation, and this is true whether we are building a house, a skyscraper, or anything else.  The philosopher George Santayana said it well when he observed,

“The loftiest edifices need the deepest foundations.”

This metaphor applies to our lives and our ministries.  The problem today is that a lot of people are all house and no foundation.  The stronger our foundation, the easier it will be to build an enduring ministry.

• Have you ever thought through your philosophy of ministry?  If so, what is it?
• What are your core beliefs in your preaching ministry?
• Are you truly practicing your core beliefs and living according to your philosophy of ministry?

Think about all of these ideas for a moment.

• What you believe creates who you are in your family, ministry and community.
• We interpret the world based upon what we believe to be true.
• Our conclusions about ourselves and others are based upon what we believe about ourselves and what we believe others to be as well.

Have you ever taken enough time to completely decide what you believe and do not believe?  Most ministers never really take the time to develop a realistic, personal purpose pertaining to their ministries.

Each of us has a philosophy of life and ministry, even though most ministers do not take the time to carefully articulate it.  Our goal is to be able to flesh out our philosophy of ministry so we can cognitively make decisions in the future that fully reflect our belief system.  If our purpose of ministry does not reflect our personal goals or aspirations, then we need to carefully review and rethink our philosophy for a more dynamic ministry.

• What is your philosophy relating to preaching?
• What are your core beliefs pertaining to the proclamation of the gospel?

Following are illustrations of two different preaching philosophies.

Over the years as I have traveled as an evangelist, I have carefully observed the libraries of each pastor.  On one occasion, as a pastor and I were chatting before the Sunday morning service began, I asked him to recommend a good book for me to read in the near future.  The pastor responded, “I have not read a new book in seven years.  The preacher does not need to read a lot in order to faithfully preach the gospel.  I believe that the Lord will pour a message into my life just prior to the Sunday services.”  What would you say are the core values of this pastor as they relate to the preaching of the gospel?

On another occasion, I was privileged to minister for a leading pastor in North America.  During the week of the crusade, we spoke regarding our various views pertaining to preaching, evangelism and discipleship.  This well-organized pastor conveyed to me that he has a preaching calendar for the year.  His preaching calendar contains all of the messages he plans to preach throughout the year.  He believes that half the battle for the local pastor is in deciding what to preach each week to his or her congregation.  He also believes the Holy Spirit will anoint the study time of the pastor just as much as the preaching time during the service.  What would you say are the core values of this pastor as they relate to the preaching of the gospel?

The truth of the matter is our purpose of preaching determines how we view our role as a preacher, how we schedule time for our preparation, what books we read, how we deliver the message, and the results we believe will be achieved.  A lot of ministers are “two hours ahead of the hounds.”  They are always on the run, endeavoring to get ready for Sunday.  With a proper philosophy and planning, the minister will have greater enjoyment in the preaching of the gospel.

If you have concluded that you need to make changes, here are the simple steps to updating your purpose of preaching:

1. Clean out your old closet of beliefs.  Keep what is biblical and practical.  Throw the rest away.  Are my present beliefs hurting or helping me?
2. Create a list of core beliefs pertaining to your preaching ministry.  What are the non-negotiables?  How important is preaching to you?
3. Compare your updated core beliefs to your present preaching ministry.
4. Commit to making the necessary changes in your weekly schedule and ministry to genuinely reflect your philosophy of ministry.

Meng-Tse, a Chinese philosopher who lived more than 2,000 years ago, said:

“To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads—such is the behavior of the multitude.”

Solomon wrote  in Song of Songs 1:6:

“They made me caretaker of the vineyards, but I have not taken care of my own vineyard.”

In other words, we must make certain our philosophy of life and ministry are reflected in the vineyard God has given us to oversee, organize and overcome.

By: Dr. James O. Davis, Founder of Cutting Edge International and Second Billion Network

Tune-in tomorrow for the conclusion of this series with the twenty-first law.