01/26/2024
We can hear a pastor preach a sermon and it thrills our hearts, but we can hear the very same message delivered by another minister and it falls flat within us; why is that so? Haven’t we all experienced such a spiritual phenomenon? When we attempt to understand why this happens, what do we blame the rise and fall of that particular message to be? Was it the condition our own faith in that particular moment, or was it the Holy Spirit moving, or not moving, over the Pastor as he spoke?
“They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Luke 24:32 ESV
One morning I woke up with the Lord's Prayer on my lips and prayed twice before reading my devotional for the day. I was reading E.M. Bounds' message that morning which was titled "The Divine Art of Preaching". This short article stood on its own, and struck me hard. I found myself thinking about it all day long. The words that Bounds wrote were so profound and true to me, and in them he revealed a clue as to why a certain homily can touch our heart one day, and not on another, or why one man in the pulpit can make your heart burn within you, while another cannot. Listen to what Bounds had to say…
"The preacher who has lost this anointing has lost the art of preaching.
Whatever other talents or abilities he may have and retain - the art of sermon making, the art of eloquence, the art of great, clear thinking, the art of pleasing an audience - he has lost the divine art of preaching. This anointing makes God's truth powerful and interesting; it draws, attracts, edifies, convicts, and saves.
This same anointing vitalizes God's revealed truth and makes it life-giving. Just like God's truth spoken without this anointing is dead." – E.M. Bounds
We have all heard anointed preaching, and have also listened to wonderful speeches that were delivered under the guise of a sermon without the anointing. God doesn't require a great performance or orator to touch and lead people to Him... He just needs a man who He wishes to anoint, and who will accept that anointing. Moses was such a man and the bible tells us that he couldn't even speak well.
“But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Exodus 4:10 ESV
I am certain that you have listened to pastors preach who touched you in ways that were exceptional; yet the message was one you had heard many times before from others great speakers with little to no effect... This is evidence of the anointing. God has reached through that particular pastor to touch your very soul. Something spiritual happened that was beyond the words, the songs, the flamboyance, the service, and the preaching of words. God was using His anointed messenger to touch your soul, and the souls of others.
Anointed men and women bless a church… but others who are celebrated as great preachers of God’s Word can be like great secular orators. They can draw a crowd, and yet be ineffective when it comes to bringing people to God. For this reason we must choose wisely and prayerfully when selecting our pastors. And, from time to time we should question the anointing of the pastors within our churches because as Bounds says... The anointing can be lost.
In speaking with a Pastor we can determine whether we are in good hands or not by feeling the presence of his anointing. Sometimes they might appear well educated, while at other times they might be intellectually lacking, but the presence of the Holy Spirit in them is the all-important indicator of God’s calling that should be present. Furthermore, anointing is like a garden; it needs to be tended, and so we ask ourselves, is our preacher praying, worshiping, and tending to his relationship with God as he should? If we are in the care of a man of God who has been called and anointed to preach we should be thankful for him and his anointing, and pray for him so that he will continue to reach many souls, and that the harvest for God through him will remain great! Paul asked for prayer, and if our pastors are anointed they should too.
“In addition, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.”
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 CSB
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling and anointing preachers into your service. Help us Lord to seek out anointed pastors to deliver your Word, and the gospel of Jesus, to us as we seek out our salvation carefully and fearfully in Christ.. Open our eyes, ears, and hearts as we prayerfully seek out those who have been selected by you, and give us a spirit of discernment to use as we sift through all those who claim to be called, but are not. Some might want to be anointed by you for the pulpit, but will not be. Many are called to teach, and serve you in various other ways, but not all will be anointed to preach.
Once you have chosen, and have brought forth your anointed, we ask that you help us to pray daily for them. We ask that your Holy Spirit would lead us in our prayers, and give us just the right words to deliver from our hearts as we fervently pray for your select, and the souls you have intended for them to reach. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who calls your children to you, and loves us all the same. Hear our prayers of thanksgiving as we offer them up to you while being anointed to exercise the various gifts you have poured out upon us. Praised be your name for the pastors, teachers, interceders, healers, and so many others that have heard your voice and answer “Here am I Lord!” Let all the glory be yours Father for all that they do in your name.
Rich Forbes