Determined To Be Determined!

A story told about a young preacher gets at a problem all preachers face. One Sunday morning, early in his ministry, he stood at the back door "shaking the brethren out" after the morning service. He thought the sermon had gone quite well, and the remarks he was getting about the lesson were all complimentary. Suddenly, a little old man walked up and said bluntly, "You preached too long" (what preacher hasn’t heard that?). But the novice preacher wasn’t fazed by this remark, especially in light of the many positive comments he had gotten. Suddenly, he was jolted by another negative comment: "You didn’t preach loud enough" – and he realized it was that same little old man. The preacher thought it strange the same sermon-critic had come through twice, but before he could gather his composure here came the same little old guy a third time. This time he blurted out, "You mispronounced ‘propitiation’ and used too many big words." This spooked the young man, so he sought out a deacon standing nearby and asked him, "Do you see that little old man over there? Who is he anyway?" The deacon smiled and replied, "Brother, don’t pay any attention to him. All he does is go around and repeat everything he hears."

It is a lesson all preachers must learn – no preacher can please everybody. Jesus Christ was the only perfect, sinless preacher who ever lived. He always did what pleased His heavenly Father (John 8:29), and spoke just as the Father told Him to speak (John 12:50). In spite of that He had critics who hated Him even though they did so "without a cause" (John 15:25). They didn’t just go around repeating bad comments about Him – they hated Him so much they hypocritically orchestrated His death on a cross. So much for the notion that a preacher, any preacher, will always be popular and able to please everyone. If Jesus couldn’t do it, how could anyone else ever hope to? Another preacher we know well is the apostle Paul. Unlike Jesus, he wasn’t perfectly sinless, but his life and commitment to Christ continue to challenge all professed disciples of Jesus, and especially those among us who preach. What did people go around saying after they heard Paul preach? Some said "he is not fit to live" (Acts 22:22)! Some said, "We have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension ..." (Acts 23:5). And one man said, "Paul, you are out of your mind" (Acts 26:24). Through it all, good and bad, Paul would not be deterred or distracted. We see his determination in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 – ^"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." There is something important in those words for both preachers and those who listen to them. Preaching that pleases God and profits people will center around Jesus Christ and His person as the Son of God, His position as our Savior and substitute and sacrifice, and His plan of salvation as laid out in the New Testament. In this day of fuzzy and fickle and "feel-good" religious thinking, may God bless His church to be determined to be determined to preach Christ and all that preaching Him requires. Think about it.

– Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN