What men and women crave in preaching is to hear a voice from beyond and to catch the outline of God’s face. The only response to such yearning is God’s saving power manifested toward the souls of men and women through God’s ministers.
Preaching with power has certain unmistakable features. The first is a sense of claim; the second, convicting power through the skillful handling and interpretation of God’s Word; and finally, the presence of the Holy Spirit. This last point, of course, may be considered all-important, and yet it operates through the first two. All too often we preach and act as if all the responsibility rested on the Holy Spirit. If the results are meager, then it is thought that this can hardly be the fault of the worker. We feel we must wait for the latter rain before results can be expected. But there are certain areas where the vital responsibility is the minister’s. Consider this sense of claim that should mark the preaching of every minister.
The Summoning Note
A sermon fails unless it carries something of a summons from the eternal God. It must possess the note of summons to the will, to the entire being. This sense of claim is borne of God’s work in the preacher himself, God actively probing me, challenging me, calling on me for a decision, and asking me to get others to make the same kind of decision.
Many sermons lack this summoning note. They are mere Sabbath assignments, a task to be done, with little or no sense of claim felt by the people. Such sermons cannot edify or confirm the truth. Does God ever come to a man or a woman without making a claim or a demand upon him? “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” is the personal claim of God for a personal response.
It is said of Whitefield’s preaching that each person in his audience felt as though the message were intended for him alone. This is what makes Billy Graham’s preaching so convincing. We may object to his music, his vehemence, his hell-fire preaching; nevertheless, he comes with a tremendous sense of personal claim upon the hearts of his hearers. This is one of the great reasons why men and women by the tens of thousands flock to hear him. It is not all due to good publicity and backing.
The fact remains that in our preaching, too much of this eternal claim is lacking. All too often, one gets the impression that the preacher is merely sitting back and talking about God, doctrine, and a host of other related topics; whereas in effective preaching, we become inescapably aware that God is talking to us, asking questions and expecting answers; He offers us the salvation we desperately need.
Such preaching is grounded on the intimate awareness of another. Isaiah’s impassioned plea for righteousness sprang from his sense of an eternal fellowship and holiness. All the prophets felt the same way. Christian preaching must be rooted in the persuasive faith and piercing conviction that in the message of the everlasting gospel, which we are preaching next Sabbath morning, lies the sole hope of salvation for mankind.
If the preacher is going to preach with power, he must change some of his perspectives and attitudes. If he regards the truth and realities of Adventism as just so many ideas to study and preach about, he cannot help having an attitude of detachment from people. The irresistible commitment in favor of truth will be absent, and the sense of claim will be blurred. If, on the other hand, the preacher is moved not by mere intellectual arguments but by a spirit of real concern for others; if he is primarily interested not in making a good case but in finding a good cause; if he aspires not simply to spread ideas about truth but to make decisions for truth; if he hungers and thirsts for righteousness and for the establishment of the kingdom of God in the hearts of his hearers, then he cannot help preaching with his overwhelming sense of claim. It will be heard and felt in his voice.
Edward Heppenstall
Former professor at Andrews University
