Preacher Back to the Trumpet

The great God Jehovah, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is calling His “preachers”, chosen by Himself, back to the trumpet. The preaching of the Word of God is ordained of God to be like a trumpet – powerful, soul searching and dynamic. Under Biblical preaching anointed by the Holy Ghost, sinners will shake and break, while religious people will either get mad or get converted. Most preaching today is religious pabulum and church people that feed on baby food will automatically be religious babies. There are very few pulpits in America with fire in the preacherÂ’s soul. Intellectual preaching produces religious junkies, but anointed preaching will disturb hell, drive out demons, and bring revival to the community.

God’s infallible Bible is plain. A chosen preacher is ordained by God to be “a flaming fire.” Let’s allow God Himself, by His truth, to say it like it is: “Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire.” (Psalm 104:4) Apostle Paul never failed to maintain the unity of the two Testaments. He quoted David the psalmist to the Hebrew Christians to whom he addressed the Book of Hebrews, “And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.” (Hebrews 1:7) This description of a God-called, and God-anointed preacher is the Biblical model. The very word “preacher” in classical English carries this powerful model. Here is the exact meaning of God’s chosen characteristics and description of a Biblical preacher: “Preaching: to give advice in an offensive, tedious or obtrusive manner; an assiduous, (constant and unwavering) inculcator (frequent and persistent, admonition); given to tedious moralizing.”

It is important with this kind of definition of preaching to not misunderstand the total truth. This could sound mean and clamorous, but thatÂ’s not GodÂ’s purpose. Apostle Paul was an apostle to preachers and never failed to inform them mightily. “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-5) “A flame of fire” with a broken heart has never wounded one soul. “A flame of fire” that has a servantÂ’s passion will heal the wounds caused by the “two edged” sword of the Word.

God’s “preacher” is not his own; he belongs to the Master. God’s “preacher” does not preach his own ideas, nor does he claim some new revelation. Apostle Peter’s instruction to the preachers was equal to Apostle Paul’s. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11) The words Peter used are a revelation in itself. “As the oracles of God” is instruction that puts the man of God on a spiritual plane that is utterly otherworldly. The word “oracles” that Peter used comes from a Greek word “logion” [log-ee-on]. It is a rendering of the word for the Son of God used by John called “logos”. Jesus was the “Logos”, the supernatural living Word of God. He was the “Logos” of God, the perfect revelation of God. He was “the way, the truth and the life.” (St. John 14:6) There is no truth apart from Him. Any revelation of theology or religious jargon apart from the eternal “Logos” is error, and he that preaches that error is a blasphemer of truth.

Apostle Peter left us no room for diversion. “If any man speak let him speak as the ‘logion [log-ee-on]’ of God.” The truth that flames from the anointed “preacher” is straight from the “Logos.” An anointed “preacher” will never vary from the words of God and the anointing will give “unction” to magnify God’s infallible Book. The Bible is the broadest book of all literature. The truth is ever revealing but never changing. It gets bigger without being enlarged. It is so glorious that a preacher can never exhaust its revelations and he has no need for some new fancy.

One of the greatest instructions of the Holy Ghost to His church was “COVET TO PROPHESY.” The context of this charge was beautiful. Apostle Paul had given very detailed instructions concerning the gifts of the Holy Ghost and their Biblical order. The church is not a place for confusion or for showmanship. The apostle gave precious details of his own spiritual life and elevated living in the Holy Ghost to a beautiful, orderly life. Then he ended the instructions with these words, “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:39-40) Prophecy is clearly identified as the foremost action of the supernatural works of the Spirit. God has so ordained that a genuine expression of prophecy breaks forth into the human spirit and lays bare sins, disobedience, rebellion, or any characteristic in that life that mars the image of God. It also comforts and provides great encouragement.

When preaching is geared only as education of the Scripture, or as entertainment by religious ideas of morality and Christian philosophy, it completely fails. The human soul will never be redeemed until the voice of God can reach the spirit of man; and GodÂ’s ordained plan, clear and simple, is that preaching the glorious Gospel is His method. There is not a back-up plan. When church only educates people, it produces nothing but religious people. Anointed preaching communicates to the spirit in man and revives the hunger for God lost in human depravity. The works of sin are made ugly and damning when the spirit of anointing breaks upon the heart.

Apostle Paul was careful to show the excellent purposes of the great gift of prophecy. Sadly, most of todayÂ’s church does not understand that preaching is not preaching until the anointing is manifest and that anointed preaching is prophecy. Preaching without the anointing is teaching, not preaching. Teaching is an office in the church, but it is not one of the nine gifts. Teaching is academic, but preaching is prophetic. Teaching is group study and has a wonderful place in ChristÂ’s church, but when teaching replaces preaching, the church becomes education and not salvation. The church world is almost exclusively religious today and most good people can see the difference.

Prophecy has three marvelous benefits: Prophecy EDIFIES, EXHORTS and COMFORTS. “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3) These three benefits are on a Divine level and are clearly supernatural. First, anointed preaching EDIFIES the listener. The soul of man cannot maintain a proper spiritual level without the spiritual life God has ordained in preaching. Preaching, anointed by the Holy Ghost, lifts the soul up and gives fire to the spirit in man. The very meaning of the word “edification” is “architecture” or “a structure; confirmation; building”, and carries the whole idea of building up the saints to maturity and spiritual manhood. Without prophecy or anointed preaching, the church remains a “nursery” instead of a “battle ground”.

EXHORTATION is the next great activity of anointed preaching. When GodÂ’s man stands in that pulpit under the anointing, he calls the saints to the presence of the Lord. The background of the word “exhort” is to call someone “near to you.” It includes warning of failure or sin, but that is the sub-work not the main work. Whatever hinders your nearness to Him will find correction in genuine exhortation. Nothing – not music, nor testimony, nor even worship – can do for you what prophecy does. All the others prepare the way for GodÂ’s servant, called to preach, to bring you into the very realm of Divine activity on a special level.

The third purpose in anointed preaching is to COMFORT. The soul of man was created to give expression to God’s wonderful creation. We were rendered by Adam’s sin, according to Paul, creatures of vanity, constantly in need of solace, strength, and encouragement. The Apostle Paul said, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20-21)

The anointed Word of God is God’s plan for reviving man spiritually on a regular basis. While every believer should have their own time to feed on spiritual things, the powerful Word of God delivered by a “flaming preacher” is dynamite for the soul. Our church world is desperate for a return to this gift. The preachers must learn that the anointing breaks the yoke, not our correction, chastisement, or rebukes. We may sometimes need to correct or chasten, but is less likely to be needed when the mighty Spirit has an anointed man.

The anointed preacher is a steward of the mysteries of God. “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1) The Bible is filled with great truths, and no man will ever master every great mystery, but our duty is to constantly wait before God for inspiration. Nothing is new, and woe to the soul that is intrigued with imaginations of some new theology. At the same time, God’s preacher should live in the Word until its mysteries of truth are enlarged and revealed.

The breadth or width of the Bible is overwhelming. The same truth of last month or last year can speak with new joys and fresh “bread” almost every time a soul prays, until the anointing falls, fresh and enlarging. The congregation will know when the preacher has had a fresh inspiration from the Living Book. The Bible, along with Jesus Christ, is the Living Bread. It never gets stale unless it becomes academic. Very few ministers have mastered the Book of Revelation for this very reason. The Word “mystery” in the Biblical context is “that which cannot be known except by Divine inspiration.”

Anointing is not emotions; a sermon may be delivered with emotions, or it may be delivered with great calm, but the anointing will bridge the difference. Often undiscerning souls will mistake emotions for anointing and drink up the poison. Emotion without anointing is misleading and can cause souls to live by feelings instead of faith. Our passion must be for truth instead of feeling. Neither should we discount feelings, for we are emotional creatures, and those emotions must not be reserved just for secondary matters of life.

God needs able ministers for His Kingdom’s victories. If we are willing to die to everything else and become totally His servants, He is ready to do the work by His Spirit. Paul said, “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?” (2 Corinthians 3:6-8) When we consider the glory of the Spirit at work in the wilderness, and understand that the New Testament excels that glory beyond description, we ought to bow our heads in disgust. We have been far less than God ever intended, and I am filled with shame. But I shall not remain in this shame. I’m moving toward the New Testament “Sinai.” Our Sinai is not a physical mountain, but a glorious Pentecost.