“It is, perhaps, an overbold beginning, but I will venture to say that with its preaching, Christianity stands or falls.” – P.T. Forsyth

Expository preaching is much more than a “type” of sermon or a “style” of preaching – it is, in its truest sense, a methodology resulting from a theology. In other words, expository preaching is the direct result of our high view of Scripture. Since the Bible is the Word of God – inerrant, infallible, and inspired – then we must commit ourselves to the method of preaching that most honors God’s revelation in Holy Scripture. Expository preaching by definition takes seriously the context and the content of God’s revelation. It is saying what God says in the Bible, echoing the text of Scripture, or as J.I. Packer says, “Letting texts talk.” The burning question on the heart of every expositor of the Word of God is “How do I best get this text to talk?”

Yet before we look at the method of expository preaching, we must first consider what we are aiming for in terms of our preaching. For example, is the aim of expository preaching simply the exchange of information about the Bible? Is the aim of expository preaching to fill the mind with doctrine apart from life-application? I believe the aim of all preaching is the glory of God through spiritual transformation. More specific, the goal of a Spirit-empowered, expository ministry of the Word of God is to change lives through preaching that engages the mind, inflames the heart, moves the will, and engenders faith in the hearer. The expositor’s authority and confidence rests in the sufficiency and power of The Word of God to impact the mind, heart, will and faith of listeners (see Matthew 7:26; Luke 24:27-32; Acts 2:37; Acts 8: 30-35; Romans 10:17, II Timothy 3:16). With transformation as the goal of our preaching, what process can lead me to preach faithful and engaging expository sermons?

Surrender Yourself to the Spirit’s Illumination. The words of the psalmist should be the beginning of any discussion of a process of exposition: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Psalm 119:18). Jesus says in John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” As expositors, we must begin our work in a state of absolute dependence upon the Spirit of God. This is the “dynamic” element of preaching, where we submit to the authority of God’s Word and prepare our hearts and minds to receive the Spirit’s illumination of the Scriptures. Through prayer and confession, we are surrendering ourselves to God and pleading for His Spirit to fill us and guide us into all truth. We confess our inadequacy and cry out to God for His help, His wisdom, and His power.

Saturate Yourself in the Spirit’s Inspiration. Once we have spiritually prepared our heart to receive the Word, we must begin by identifying a portion of Scripture that will serve as our textual unit for our sermon. Preaching systematically and sequentially through a book of the Bible is advantageous for two reasons: 1) the next textual unit to be covered flows from and builds upon the previous week’s text, and 2) the expositor stays within the flow and development of the biblical writer’s thought. Expounding a textual unit is often referred to as “paragraph preaching” in which the author of Scripture communicates a complete thought unit or textual idea. Textual markers are key words such as “Therefore, since, because, for,” as well as changes in subject matter, verb tenses, audience, time, scenes, or characters. Textual markers provide the clues to identifying complete units.

Once text selection is complete, we must be careful not to reach for our favorite commentary! At this stage of preparation, get alone with God, and just read and reread the text, the immediate context, and the entire book several times. Soak in the Scriptures. Seek to identify the overall theme of the book, the flow of the writer’s argument, key sections or divisions, and repeated phrases and words. Most importantly, allow the text speak to your own heart with the intention of James 1:22: “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Through prayer, submit to the truths the Holy Spirit illumines to your heart. This phase of preparation is the key to incarnational preaching, or as Phillips Brooks said, “Truth coming through personality.” Don’t rush this process! God’s truth is not microwaveable – we must let Scripture simmer in the crock-pot of our hearts if we are ever going to preach out of the overflow of the Spirit’s work in our own lives.

Survey the Context of Your Text. Expository preaching takes very seriously the context in which a textual unit is found. This is the “fly-over” view, or the panoramic picture, where we look for the larger context of a book through historical, literary, rhetorical, and theological analysis. First, we look at what immediately precedes and what immediately follows our textual unit. For example, in dealing with Mark 10:17-31 and the rich young ruler coming to Jesus, the careful expositor observes that immediately preceding the account of the rich young ruler is the account of the people bringing little children to Jesus. The rich young ruler brings himself to Jesus on his own terms, a picture of complete independence, while the children must be brought by another, a picture of absolute dependence. The kingdom of God belongs to “such as these” because the children in their dependence must be held by Jesus (Mark 10:16); the rich young ruler walks away because his heart is already being held by his riches. This exchange between Jesus and the rich young ruler ultimately results in the disciples asking the same question the rich young ruler did: “Who then can be saved?” (Mark 10:26). Jesus answers by referring to the impossibility of man to save himself, but that “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27). How does God make this possible? The answer comes from the surrounding context – verses 32-34 of chapter 10 point us to the cross, where the impossibility of sinful man’s salvation was made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Another reason expositors take very seriously the context of Scripture is because context keeps us from making interpretive mistakes. For example, Paul’s statement in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” can be taken out of context to prove a “Superman mentality” in the line of the power of positive thinking. In context, this passage teaches us that the overall framework of 4:10-23 is not superhuman ability, but rather spiritual satisfaction – contentment - regardless of circumstances! The careful expositor notes the context, specifically Paul’s repeated emphasis on having “learned” contentment – clearly, this was no instantaneous “name it and claim it” mentality, but the process of mature discipleship.

Scrutinize the Contents of Your Text. Once the survey work is complete, it is time to dig into the text with the zoom lens of exegetical research. This is where the “spade work” of grammatical analysis, word studies, and interpretation takes place. We are breaking the text down into its smallest segments, studying phrase by phrase and word by word. This phase is also where we are using original language tools and exegetical commentaries to help us better understand what the text is saying. Make textual observations, ask questions of the text, and note any significant details that might help you to better understand your text and more effectively communicate your text.

Scan the Structure of Your Text. For expository preaching, the text does not merely serve to suggest the subject or topic of our sermons. The structure of the text determines the structure of the sermon. We must scan the text, looking for its divisions and subdivisions, identifying major clauses, dependent clauses, and literary features such as chiastic structure, so that our sermons reflect the flow, the argument, and the style of the writer. As careful expositors, we want to say what the text writer said, but we also want to say it how the text writer said it. To say that the text’s structure does not matter is to say that the Spirit haphazardly put Scripture together! For example, Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission, contains one imperative command and three participles that are aspects of fulfilling the command. A sermon with four main points misses the structure of the text – better to have one main point based on the imperative with three subpoints of the one main point in order to be more faithful to the structure of the text.

Stick to The Authorial Intent of Your Text. This could very well be the step in expository preaching that creates the most controversy and confusion. I explain it to my students this way as they preach through Philippians: After you finish preaching on your passage, imagine that you are sitting down beside the Apostle Paul. He puts his arm on your shoulder, leans over, and whispers one of two things in your ear: 1) “You said exactly what I meant to say in my letter- you nailed it!” or 2) “What you just said had nothing to do with what I wrote to the church at Philippi – what in the world were you thinking?”

For example, a sermon on the true nature of worship from John 4 on the woman at the well completely ignores authorial intent, which John gives us in 20:31: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” In John 4, John is showing us Jesus as the Living Water who completely satisfies the deepest thirst of the human soul. In fact, a careful study of the flow of chapter four reveals that the subject of worship is a diversion, a smokescreen! Remember, a text cannot have more than one intended meaning, although it may have many applications. The exchange of worship may yield some contemporary applications for a discussion on modern worship, yet to say John wrote chapter four to teach us about worship is unfaithful to authorial intent. Hence, stick to authorial intent!

State The Central Proposition of Your Sermon While Sticking to the Authorial Intent of Your Text. Based upon the exegetical phases presented above, in one clear sentence state: (1) what the author is talking about, and (2) what the author is saying about what he is talking about. For example, in Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul writes about our salvation and describes it in three ways: what we used to be, what we are now, and what we will be (past, present, future). We now need to contemporize the statement and make it present tense: “This morning we are going to look at our glorious salvation by examining who we were before Christ, who we are presently in Christ, and who we will one day be when we are with Christ.” For expository preaching to be “expository,” the central proposition of the sermon must match the central proposition of the text!

Support the Central Proposition of Your Sermon through Explanation and Illustration. This is the heart of sermon development, where the central proposition of the sermon is developed through the unfolding of the biblical text. The natural divisions of the text (in our Ephesian text above, we are following time divisions) become the sermon’s division statements, with each division supporting the central proposition of the sermon. The supporting material for the sermon consists primarily of explanation of the biblical text as well as illustrations of the truth or principle being taught. Explanation involves the fruit of our word studies, the significance of a particular verb tense or mood, on perhaps word usage in other parts of the book or Bible. Cross references help clarify the meaning as well as keep us in the overall context of biblical theology. Illustrations must fit the text and context, and should never override the significance of the text! The illustration must shed light on the truth being preached and anchor the truth in the mind through the image or picture presented. Illustrations should be concrete, emotive, and fit the text you are preaching.

Secure Your Sermon to the Heart through Penetrating Application. Expository preaching often gets a bad reputation because it stays in the biblical world and never enters into the contemporary culture. Yet the most engaging expository preaching will always move the listener into the world of application. The word of God is relevant – we do not have to “make it relevant” as some would say today! In this phase, we are seeking to pin biblical truth to the heart of our listeners in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Whether you hold your application to the end of your sermon or apply the sermon after each division statement, the point is that you specifically show what kind of a difference this sermon’s truth will make in the lives of listener’s if they obey it and live it out in their marriages, families, churches, workplaces, cities, and world.

Show the Savior Throughout Your Sermon. Jesus Christ is the grand theme of the Bible. Jesus says to the Pharisees in John 5:39, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained to the disciples his death and resurrection: “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27). Expositional preaching is Christological preaching because the Spirit of God testifies to the Son of God through the Word of God. At some point in the sermon, the expositor of Scripture must ask, “How does this text testify to the person and work of Jesus Christ?” Then, by bringing a healthy biblical theology to bear upon his text, the expositor can show the beauty of God’s redemptive plan unfolding throughout the Word of God and culminating in Jesus Christ.

Spark Interest with an Intriguing Introduction To Your Sermon. The introduction is saved until the end of our sermon preparation so that we know what we will be introducing. The introduction should get our audience’s attention and answer the question, “Why should I even bother listening to this today?” This can be done through a moving story right out of the news-media. For example, when I recently preached on the subject of worry from the Sermon on the Mount, I introduced the subject by holding up a recent newspaper and pointing out the headlines: Will there be another 911? Will gas prices go even higher? How will we prepare for another hurricane Katrina? Will social security be there when I retire? All of these are questions people in the mainstream are asking – but what does the Bible say about them? A good model for introductions is to start with the contemporary world, and then move into the biblical world to show how the Bible answers such issues or questions.

Specify the Response Your Sermon Seeks in the Conclusion. If the word of God is living and active, then our response to it should be living and active. Many preachers fail to call people to respond specifically to the message, and instead settle for a quick review or summary of their main points. Sadly, the conclusion is often the least- planned aspect of the sermon, and yet we as preachers wonder why there is so little response to our messages. Specific appeals get specific responses, while also allowing for the Holy Spirit to apply our message in a unique way that only He, in His omniscience, can. I was amazed as a pastor how many times I tightened my conclusion from vague abstractions (“Everybody serve God”) to specifics (“We need 4 people to distribute meals to shut-ins on Thursday night this week.”), and saw God’s people rise to the occasion. Don’t be afraid to challenge your listeners – set the bar high and finish your sermon strong!

Seek Sinners Through The Invitation of Your Sermon. Expository preaching is evangelistic preaching because the heart of the Bible is the gospel, God’s saving grace. Give people the opportunity to respond to the life transforming truth that they have just heard you preach. Pray God would add to the kingdom every time you preach! Lives are at stake, souls are in the balance, and you are charged with giving them the words of eternal life.

Quotes from Chapters

Introduction: Clark Kent or Superman? What Do Spirit-Empowered Preachers Look Like

Judging from the verses quoted above, Paul doesn’t sound like a superhero at all – yet no honest reader of the New Testament would deny the power of God that accompanied Paul’s ministry of the Word. As pastors today, we live in a church culture filled with large egos, super-sized pride, and superhero expectations – pressures some say the man of steel himself could not handle! Yet we must reject any notion that we are Superman called to be a superhero. The hero of our preaching is Jesus Christ, and our goal as preachers is to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-empowered so that our audience knows the difference between supernatural preaching and superhero preaching! Preaching is not an exhibition of the Superman skills you may have learned in a seminary or a seminar – rather, as Paul says, it is a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. The question for us is, how do we get there? (pages 7-8)

My hope is that Spirit-Led Preaching will cause you to approach preaching as a holistic and dynamic process rather than an isolated event on Sunday morning. I pray God uses it to create a fresh dependence upon the Spirit in your life and in your preaching ministry. The book will succeed in my view if it causes you to be more sensitive to the Spirit’s role in your preaching. To take a stand on the Word of God is to take a stand with the Spirit of God who inspired it. To preach the Word is to honor the Spirit, and to honor the Spirit is to preach His Word. Homiletics shall not separate, what God hath joined together! (page 12)

Chapter 1: Missing In Action: Where is the Holy Spirit When We Preach?

Preaching has lost its theological mandate, and as a result we have replaced preachers with speakers because we are told people want dialogue without doctrine and talks without truth. Theology is out, storytellers are in, and as a result we are seeing an entire generation of preachers who are more driven to be effective communicators than to be Spirit-empowered preachers. Methodology trumps theology, and sensitivity to the audience has replaced sensitivity to the Spirit. (page 15)

Our calling as preachers is to proclaim the Bible, plain and simple. We must also deliver God’s Word in an engaging and authentic manner. My conviction is that the Spirit of God and the Word of God come together in the heart and mind of the preacher to produce substantive and compelling sermons that transform the lives of listeners. A preacher’s head and heart must meet together in the Holy Spirit to produce powerful preaching that informs the mind, inflames the heart, moves the will, and transforms the life. The Word of God is the substance of our message - it is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). The Spirit of God is the fire of our message – He ignites us as we prepare it and deliver it, and He ignites our listeners as the hear it! (Page 16)

Chapter 2: What is Spirit-Driven Preaching?

When we get off the tracks and go “rabbit chasing” in our sermons, then we can expect (and probably have experienced!) sluggishness in our preaching engine because our preaching has gotten off the Spirit-inspired track! And if you don’t get the sermon back on the tracks by returning to the heart of the biblical text, you will eventually come to a grinding and screeching halt because you are working against both the Word and the Spirit. But when we find ourselves on the solid rails of the Spirit-inspired text, empowered by the Spirit’s illuminating presence, and driven by a passionate Christological motive to glorify Jesus, the sermonic train speeds along tracks of the biblical text to its desired destination of spiritual transformation. (Page 28)

Chapter 3: The Biblical Foundation For Spirit-Driven Preaching: Paul, the Prophets, and Jesus

First, Paul believed preaching’s power must come from the Holy Spirit, not human manipulation or “human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (I.Cor. 1:17; I Cor. 2:4). Second, Paul believed preaching must center on the person and work of Jesus Christ, with a specific emphasis on the cross as the basis for everything Christian. Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God” (I. Cor. 1:23). Third, Paul’s preaching was driven by his doctrine of inspiration found in 2 Timothy 3:16 as well as 1 Corinthians 2:12-14. As a result, Paul believed in profitability of all Scripture and preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). (page 38)

Paul states that his preaching was “a demonstration of the Spirit.” The Greek word for demonstration (apodeixis) occurs only in 1 Corinthians 2:4 and carries with it the meaning of proof. In Paul’s theology of preaching, the Holy Spirit’s unseen dynamic at work in the preacher and the hearers is the “proof” or confirmation that God’s Word is powerful, active, and living. Just as the Spirit testifies to our salvation (Romans 8:16), the Spirit also testifies or “proves” to our listeners that we are preaching the Word of God and they are indeed hearing the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the divine authenticator – He inspires the Word, illumines the Word, and authenticates it as the Word! Jesus teaches his disciples concerning the “proofing” or “confirming” ministry of the Holy Spirit when he says in John 16:13, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” Hence, Paul’s preaching is powerful because it carries with it the divine confirmation, the divine “proof,” given by means of Holy Spirit’s inward authentication. (Page 42)

Chapter 4: The Hermeneutical Case For Spirit-Driven Preaching: The Doctrine of Illumination

Though the Spirit’s work in our hearts is subjective and unique to each individual believer, that subjective aspect must always be governed by the grammatical-historical method of biblical interpretation that is anchored in authorial intent. Interpretations of the Bible that make no reference to authorial intent almost always end up misreading the text, because the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical text along certain predictable rules and guidelines that we can identify: language, grammar, genre, etc. Therefore, it would not make sense for the Spirit to contradict His work of inspiration by providing “new” illumination that goes against or contradicts what He said in His inspired Word. The Spirit is God, and for the Spirit to illumine the biblical text in a way that does not honor His inspiration would be a contradiction of His divine nature. (Page 50)

When I read of inseparable love of God that I have in Christ Jesus in Romans 8, that nothing in heaven or on earth or in all creation can separate me from his love, my heart is warm and gripped by amazing power of God’s love. It stirs something inside me, and causes me to want to pray and thank God. The Holy Spirit keeps preaching from becoming a completely brain-oriented endeavor. Deep, clear thinking is critical to preaching, but will turn into a dry-as-dust lecture unless the Spirit’s illumination ignites fire in the preacher’s soul. With the Holy Spirit’s illumination, the preacher’s Bible study becomes a passionate engagement with the truth of God that stirs the preacher’s soul and changes the preacher’s life. (Page 63)

Chapter 5: The Theological Foundation for Spirit-Driven Preaching: Word and Spirit

In the process of Paul’s speaking, the Bible says that “the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” (Acts 16:14). Paul spoke, but the Lord did the opening. One of the mistakes I made early in my preaching ministry was to put an undue pressure on myself trying to figure out how to best get hearts to open up: a tear-jerker story at just the right place, a shocking statistic, and surprise ending nobody saw coming. Yet this passage reminds us as preachers that the ultimate persuasion is the Spirit’s persuasion. Sometimes we overemphasize human rhetoric to the degree that we begin to think we are the persuaders of truth. But if the Spirit convinces, if the Spirit convicts, and if the Spirit opens the heart – then people leave with their faith in God’s Word and God’s Spirit, “so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (I Cor. 2:5). Whether or not God chooses to open hearts and pull back the scales of unbelief is His sovereign ministry through the Spirit. I pray intensely and fervently that it will happen every time I preach, but I cannot make it happen. My calling is to preach, and I dare not put my confidence in anything other than the power of the Word of God and the Spirit’s illumination of the Word of God to open hearts darkened by sin. (Page 71)

Together, Word and Spirit form the powerful catalyst that serves as the theological foundation for Spirit-driven preaching. The Word activates the Spirit, and the Spirit authenticates the Word; The Word is the instrument of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the implement of the Word; the Word is the written witness, and the Spirit is the inward witness. In terms of preaching, the Word is the source and substance of our preaching, and the Spirit is the supernatural power of our preaching. (Page 75)

Chapter 6: The Spirit and the Preacher

If you come to Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, you will see a sign outside my office that reminds me of the vision God placed on my heart when He called me to the seminary to teach preaching:

VISION: To advance the kingdom of God by raising up a generation of God -called, Spirit -empowered, and Christ -exalting preachers who with Passion and Intensity rightly divide And boldly proclaim the Word of God out of the overflow of a heart set on fire by God!

I know my vision statement is a run-on sentence and is an English teacher’s nightmare, but that’s not the point. The point is, I need to be continually reminded that teaching preaching involves more than just 5 steps, 7 principles, or 4 skills. Spiritual dynamics such as Word and Spirit, illumination and empowerment, and confession and consecration cannot go unmentioned in the classroom. (Page 91)

Character, preaching, and the Holy Spirit are all intricately intertwined and feed off each another to produce an atmosphere of credibility and integrity. This fragile, interdependent relationship must be protected from sin and fed by a consistent devotional life filled with prayer, consecration, and meditation upon God’s Word for personal growth. Failure to catch fire in the pulpit on Sunday is the result of sacrificing our intimacy with God on the altar of the urgent. Nothing is more urgent or more pressing than fanning into the flame the gift God has given us (2 Tim. 1:6). Sin’s aim is to put out the Spirit’s fire. Sin should grieve you because it grieves the Spirit of God who lives within you. Sin should bother you because it bothers the Holy Spirit. Righteousness should captivate your every thought because it pleases the indwelling Spirit. Purity should motivate your every decision because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit and you are not your own, you were bought at a great price. Sin that is not confessed and repented of undermines the dynamic of the Holy Spirit and will hauntingly follow us into the pulpit and rob us of our power:

Likewise every evasion of duty, every indulgence of self, every compromise with evil, every unworthy thought, word, or deed, will be there at the head of the pulpit stairs to meet the minister on Sunday morning, to take the light from his eye, the power from his blow, the ring from his voice, and the joy from his heart. (McCartney, Preaching Without Notes, 176)) (Page 100)

Chapter 7: The Spirit and the Preparation

What are the keys to internalizing the message? How can a preacher more effectively incarnate the truth he will preach? First, the preacher must be committed to prayer. I think praying your sermon back to God as an offering of worship is a powerful way to keep your preaching in the context of worship and to remind yourself who you are preaching for. Ask God to burn the truth on your heart first, so you can deliver it hot to others. Follow the wisdom of sermon preparation that goes, “Read yourself full, think yourself clear, pray yourself hot, and deliver yourself empty!” (Page 117)

Where does passion come from? Why do people who listen to preaching continually list passion as one of the key factors they look for in an effective message? I believe listeners identify with passion because passion is contagious. As for its origin, the Spirit of God births passion in our hearts long before we stand to preach on Sunday. If you’re not passionate about your message before Sunday at 11, no amount of psyching yourself up will help – it’s too late for genuine, heartfelt passion. You can mark your sermon notes with a post-it-note that says, “Get passionate at this point,” but it won’t help, because passion is not planned, it is incarnated. You can yell and sweat and wave a hanky, but folks will know if it is a bogus attempt to work up a crowd. True passion is not contrived or forced passion, but Spirit-induced and Word-created passion. Passion is not a light switch in the on or off position; rather, passion erupts out of an ever-growing, ever-vital, and ever-dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, The Word of God, and The Holy Spirit. When we are convinced that we are preaching the living, active, and powerful Word of God, we come under the Spirit’s conviction and like Jeremiah express passion because we have fire in our bones. (page 130)

Chapter 8: The Spirit and the Presentation

Where does passion come from? Why do people who listen to preaching continually list passion as one of the key factors they look for in an effective message? I believe listeners identify with passion because passion is contagious. As for its origin, the Spirit of God births passion in our hearts long before we stand to preach on Sunday. If you’re not passionate about your message before Sunday at 11, no amount of psyching yourself up will help – it’s too late for genuine, heartfelt passion. You can mark your sermon notes with a post-it-note that says, “Get passionate at this point,” but it won’t help, because passion is not planned, it is incarnated. You can yell and sweat and wave a hanky, but folks will know if it is a bogus attempt to work up a crowd. True passion is not contrived or forced passion, but Spirit-induced and Word-created passion. Passion is not a light switch in the on or off position; rather, passion erupts out of an ever-growing, ever-vital, and ever-dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, The Word of God, and The Holy Spirit. When we are convinced that we are preaching the living, active, and powerful Word of God, we come under the Spirit’s conviction and like Jeremiah express passion because we have fire in our bones. (page 130)

Preaching as trialogue means the presentation of the message becomes a three-way conversation between the preacher, the audience, and the Holy Spirit. What are they all talking about? The Word of God! Preaching as trialogue reminds us of the dynamic and interactive element of preaching, because preaching does not happen in a vacuum. The Spirit’s desire is not to take a back seat and simply “overhear” or “oversee” the preacher/audience conversation – The Spirit wants to actively and directly contribute to the trialogue by quickening the hearts and minds of the audience to hear and respond to the Word, and by empowering and guiding the preacher’s presentation of the Word of God. (Page 135)

Chapter 9: The Spirit and the Power: Understanding the Anointing

Does the preaching of the gospel today still require the attendant power of the Holy Spirit? Can we expect the “proclamation and Spirit” paradigm established in Luke-Acts to accompany our preaching of the gospel today? I believe that the Spirit and proclamation are still necessary, because we are preaching the same message and we are up against the same sin-hardened hearts that can only be opened by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:14). The Spirit’s illumination, testimonium, conviction, guidance, and Christological witness are all available and necessary for the preaching of the gospel today! I do not believe that the Spirit’s power for preaching ended in the apostolic age. Just as Jesus was empowered by the Spirit to reveal to us the glory of the Father, so the Spirit empowers us to bring glory to the Son. By the Spirit, Jesus completed the work the Father had given Him to do on earth (John 17:4), and by the same Spirit, we work to complete the mission Jesus has given to us to preach the gospel until every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. (Page 154)

In Colossians 1:9, Paul’s prayer for the church begins by asking that the believers in Colossae “be filled with the knowledge of His will.” The verb speaks of a continuous filling and carries the idea that whatever we are filled with, we will ultimately be controlled by. Paul is saying let the knowledge of God’s will – His Word – fill and control you. The Spirit’s anointing works in much the same way. When our lives are Spirit-filled, we are Spirit-led. The Spirit fills us and controls us, and God is confident He can use us in our surrendered state, so He blesses us with the attendant power of the Holy Spirit for preaching. Ephesians 5:18 talks about the ability of alcohol to come into our bodies and control us – “do not get drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.” In both Colossians 1:9 and Ephesians 5:18, the idea is one of possession and control. Colossians 1:9 calls us to be filled and controlled by the knowledge of His will as it is revealed in Scripture – the Word. Ephesians 5:18 calls us to be filled with and controlled by the indwelling Holy Spirit – the Spirit. So the preacher who is anointed for preaching and empowered by the Holy Spirit will be filled and controlled by both Word and Spirit. Vines and Shaddix agree:

The anointing is the spiritual fervor that flows through a man in the preaching event. Though the effects of this divine work often are not noticed until the delivery of the sermon, the man of God must build his entire preaching ministry on its presence. Consequently, attention must be given to the need for this anointing long before the sermon-building process begins. (Vines and Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit, 64) (page 155)

The preacher not only knows he is weak apart from the Holy Spirit, he also knows he has no message apart from God’s Word. He never takes the credit or glory, because he knows it totally belongs to God. The preacher knows he is a servant, not a superstar. You don’t preach very longer before you realize how unworthy you are to be a preacher of God’s Holy Word. This is the angst of preaching, the fact that as preachers we feel so unworthy to preach, yet we are compelled by the Spirit to do it. The thought of preaching repels us and compels us at the same time. When we compare our own sinfulness with the sinless one of whom we preach, we are repulsed by a sense of unworthiness. Yet when the Spirit of God takes hold of us and fires us through His Word to a red-hot passion, we are compelled to preach because we see the glory of God and we cannot keep silent, we cannot hold it in! (169)

Chapter 1
Missing in Action: Where is the Holy Spirit When We Preach? 7

Chapter 2
What is Spirit-Led Preaching? 17

Chapter 3
The Biblical Foundation for Spirit-Led Preaching: Paul, the Prophets, and Jess 25

Chapter 4
Recovering the Doctrine of Illumination for Spirit-Led Preaching 38

Chapter 5
Word and Spirit Together: The Theological Foundation For Spirit-Led Preaching 53

Chapter 6
The Spirit and the Preacher’s Sanctification 67

Chapter 7
The Spirit and the Sermon’s Preparation 88

Chapter 8
The Spirit and the Sermon’s Presentation 101

Chapter 9
The Spirit and the Anointing: Understanding the Spirit’s Empowerment for Preaching 126