Preach the sermon everyday - if necessary, use words

"Preach the sermon everyday - if necessary, use words”    (Pres. George H.W. Bush)

For our editorial lesson today I’m going to continue with some thoughts regarding our Christian walk through whatever portion of this new year that the Lord allows us.  My thoughts here today are about being preachers - all of us.  I know, you can’t get up in front of an audience and speak, even though you might surprise yourself if you tried, but, there is another way of “preaching” that all can do.  And the rest of this lesson is aimed at showing you how this is done.

You see, one doesn’t need to physically mount a pulpit in order to preach a sermon.  One doesn’t have to stand before a class in order to “teach” a lesson.  It’s because we, as Christians, are “preaching and teaching” sermons and lessons everyday of our earthly lives by how we conduct these lives.  And remember, by our conduct, we can “preach” either a good sermon or a bad one.  And wishy-washy (lukewarm) sermons are in the bad category.

There are times when all of us need to be inspired and/or encouraged and where we get those things is from others, isn’t it?  But, that can be a two-way street, can’t it?  IE: We want to be “encouraged” not “discouraged.”  By the same token, as Christians, we want to be “encouragers” and not “discouragers.”  And that’s the general thrust of our lesson here.

Sometimes we use an oft said metaphor when talking about “encouragement” and how we’re affected by it.  It’s referred to as a “shot of adrenalin.”  Think of it this way - medically speaking, where does adrenalin go when it’s administered?  Right to the heart, doesn’t it?  Isn’t that why we say that we “take heart” when our spirits are lifted by being encouraged?

What we need to understand is that each and every one of us can do some “spirit lifting” for others by encouraging them.  And, we can do that by “preaching” a sermon.  One that others can see and be inspired by.  They can have their “heart lifted” by our “sermon.”

Or, we can look at it in the way the Apostle Paul described it in 1Cor. 16:28.  There he’s talking about some of the brethren and how their conduct affected him.  He said they, “refreshed my spirit.”  He also reminded them that they should “acknowledge ye them that are such.”  (KJV).  That simply means that we should show our appreciation to those who encourage us and “refresh our spirits.”

So, how do we preach our sermon?  Here is one thought - Did you ever consider that faithful attendance to worship service and other church activities to be a way?  As an illustration, let me tell you a little story that certainly had a positive effect on the original author of it.  He was an American serviceman stationed in Germany at the time he witnessed this “sermon.”

He said that one Sunday morning, a bitterly cold, rainy and snowy day in November, he had almost convinced himself to stay home from the church services due to the weather situation, but he remembered that he was the only song-leader at the time, so he bundled up, caught a public bus that would take him near the church building.  It was while riding on this comfortable and warm bus that he saw the “sermon” that had such a lasting impact on his spiritual life.

While riding towards the church he looked out the window and saw an elderly couple struggling to walk on the sidewalk.  He recognized them as being members of the church where he attended and that they were headed in that direction.  He knew that the man was in his 80's and blind, and his wife was 75 and was crippled in one foot. 

He also knew that they had very little income which explained why they were walking instead of taking the bus as he was doing.  But, despite their age and infirmities, they were trudging as best they could through the terrible weather to attend worship service.  He said that what they “preached” to him that day was a sermon showing their love for the Lord and their desire to do all they could to not “forsake the assembling” with their brethren.  His spirit was lifted by this “sermon” and it has remained in his heart since then.

Brethren, all of us should aspire to be “walking preachers.”  Think about it a moment.  In the realm of faithful attendance, aren’t there “walking sermons” all around us?  They’re “preached” by some walking with crutches, with walkers and even some in wheelchairs.   They’re “preached” by those who barely have enough strength and health to get out of bed, get dressed and make it to the assembly location.  They “preach” to me and they inspire and encourage me.  They “lift my heart” and they “refresh my spirit.”  God bless them.

I firmly believe that this is the reason that God designed the structure of His Church to be a “body” - a family or a congregation.  So that we can “preach & teach” to each other and thereby receive that encouragement we need.  So that, like Paul, the brethren can “refresh my spirit” and I, in turn, can do the same for them.

Consider it this way: if I forsake the assembly, I am neither encouraged nor do I encourage others.  We all have a duty as members of “the Body” to “preach” our sermons, not only to our brethren, but to all about us with which we can have influence.

Let me give you another short example of “preaching” by example.  In 1953, in Chicago, a large group of dignitaries and media gathered to welcome the Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  The train pulled into the station and the honoree, a tall, imposing man with a great bushy head of hair and mustache, stepped off. 

The cameras flashed and the officials all started telling him what a great honor it was to have him come to their city when he just walked through the crowd around him and went over to an elderly black lady struggling with two large suitcases.  He helped her get on board, wished her a safe journey and then returned to the officials and the press, apologizing for keeping them waiting.

After witnessing what Dr. Albert Schweitzer had just done, one official said to a reporter, “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.”

If you happened to need a resolution for this new year, let me recommend this one.  Let’s resolve to be “spirit refreshers” to our brethren and “walking Gospel sermons” to the world around us.

And now, let me close this lesson with some words penned by another well-known author,  Edward Albert Guest and his poem entitled, “Sermons We See.”

 “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.”

Ron Covey