by Given O. Blakely

PREACHERS AND TEACHERS ARE CUSTODIANS OF THE TRUTH OF GOD!

Preacher and teacher--you are a custodian of the truth! Have more care for it than your career, reputation, or welfare. Put yourself into the background, and the Word into the foreground. Leave your audience incapable of forgetting what the Lord said--whether they agree with it or not. Buttress your statements with a "thus saith the Lord." If you cannot nail your affirmation down with Scripture, do not be so presumptuous as to affirm it! If God did not say it, do not take it upon yourself to upstage God by drawing the attention of your hearers to your words and opinions, or to those of others who only share human perceptions. The Holy Spirit has identified the church as the "pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15). God has entrusted His people with the dissemination of His thoughts--His Gospel-- His saving and sanctifying truth! That "church," which is "the body of Christ," is where you have been placed by God. Proclaimers of the truth are part of that body, and occupy a leading role. Proclaimers, or "evangelists" (those announcing good news) rank third in the gifts provided to the church by Jesus (Eph 4:11). What a glorious privilege to be numbered among those announcing good news of Jesus Christ. All of the resources necessary to the effective proclamation of truth are supplied in Christ. We have been given "everything we need for life and godliness." These blessed provisions are obtained within the framework of fellowship with Christ Jesus. As the Spirit expresses it, "through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness" 2 Pet 1:3, NIV). For your preaching to be powerful, you must walk and live with Christ! God called you into His fellowship (1 Cor 1:9), and no work can be effective without that fellowship. Culture an appetite for the Lord and His Word. Thus will your preaching be honored by God and effective in working His will among men. You are involved in the most glorious work in all the world!

Tomorrow: Declaring War On Mediocrity In joyful expectation of glory, Given O. Blakely