POWER
IN EXPOSITORY PREACHING
by Faris D. Whitesell
Chapter 10
Power Through COMMUNICATION
The supreme test
of a sermon is whether or not it communicates. If it fails here, all
else is in vain. Several terms have been used to describe the preacher’s
pulpit action. An old one is "to preach" the sermon; a newer
one is "to deliver" the sermon, and a still newer one is
"to present" the message. All of these focus attention upon
the preacher and the sermon almost to the exclusion of the audience.
They imply that the preacher’s responsibility ends with speaking
the message from the pulpit. The audience may do whatever it pleases
with the sermon.
A newer and more popular phrase is "to communicate" the
sermon. The word communicate means "to impart, to share, to distribute,
to hold in common, to give and receive." The idea is that the
speaker shares his message with the listeners; he transmits it to
them so that they take hold of it and possess it. To communicate means
more than to make the people hear the sermon, or be interested in
it, or to understand it—it involves receiving it, considering
it, and responding either negatively or positively to it. This concept
involves the audience in the preaching process as well as the preacher
and his sermon.
The responsibility to communicate is taken seriously by the secular
world today. Universities, businesses, governments and religious organizations
have departments of commu-nication. Churches and preachers need to
think about it.
Our interest centers on communicating the expository sermon, though
most of what we say applies to other types of sermons too. All of
the essentials discussed in previous chapters help in communication.
In other words, if the explanation is sound, the organization clear,
the argu-mentation strong, the illustrations appropriate, the application
pointed, and the imagination active, the sermon has gone a long way
toward communication. However, there are other items to be considered.
The preacher should be able to feel the pulse and sense the mood of
the age in which he lives. To do this, he must be in touch with the
currents of life and thought. Such understanding will help him slant
his preaching to today’s world rather than to yesterday’s.
Luccock says that ours is an age with a sense of insignificance, insecurity,
anxiety, futility, emptiness.1 Others call it a bewildered
age where we live in a moral vacuum. Objective, valid moral standards
are almost a thing of the past. What an age in which to preach the
eternally fixed moral truths of divine revelation as revealed in expository
preaching!
F. W. Dillistone of England raises this question: "How can a
culture whose whole attention is focused upon the factual, the observable,
the verifiable, the workable, suddenly turn aside to consider the
unseen, the personal, the ethical, the eternal?"2
We believe that the expository preacher has the answer if anyone does.
William Faulkner, the novelist, came near the truth, when he said:
"The young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems
of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good
writing because only that is worth writing about….There should
be room in the writer’s heart…only for the old verities
and truths of heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story
is ephemeral and doomed—love and honor and pity and pride and
compassion and sacrifice."3
Faulkner was right on the human level, but the expository preacher
rises to the higher level of the old universal truths of sin, sorrow,
death, grace, redemption, love and service. But these eternally valid
truths of divine revelation have to be related to the human predicament
of today.
David H. C. Read has written: "The line of communication has
been cut; and there is no real contact between pulpit and pew. Sad
though it may sometimes seem to us in our dreams of the ideal sermon,
conceived in quietness and delivered without complications, it remains
an axiom of Christian preaching that the road from the study to the
pulpit runs through a living, demanding, interrupting manse; out into
the noisy street; in and out of house and hospitals, farms and factories,
buses, trains, cinema; through ringing telephones and stacks of letters
and minutes; up between rows of puzzled people to the place where
you are called to preach. It cannot be otherwise….This necessity
of a living contact with the real world arises both from our situation
in the world…and also from the very nature of the Word
of God."4
The author’s opinion is that some writers have overdrawn the
picture of the present break-down of communication between the pulpit
and the pew. If the expository preacher is a pastoral caller and counselor,
and is involved constructively in the affairs of his community, he
will be in touch with life and able to communicate from the pulpit.
The expository preacher will wish to gain the backing and cooperation
of his audience in his program of expository preaching. He can do
this by showing them that he is preaching for them as well
as to them. He is their mouthpiece. He speaks for the whole
congregation, not merely for himself. His source of authority and
preaching material is their Bible, the standard of their faith and
practice. He is seeking to help them understand and live it. His sources
of information about the Bible are standard helps recognized and approved
by the whole church of Christ, not merely their own denomination.
His interpretations are not offhand, personal ones, but they have
been checked and tested by reliable Biblical authorities, and are,
therefore, worthy of careful consideration. The preacher’s congregation
will appreciate and respond to this type of approach.
The preacher should invite his people to bring their Bibles to church
and to look up his tests and references. Then he can invite them to
share their reactions, opinions, and questions with him either in
personal conversation or by telephone.
A good way to arouse the interest and cooperation of the congregation
is to have them vote on themes for different preaching series: favorite
Bible chapters, favorite Bible characters, favorite Bible books for
exposition, and favorite texts.
H. H. Halley’s Bible Handbook has a section entitled,
"The Most Important Thing in This Book." It is a plan of
congregational Bible reading from which the pastor takes his sermon
each week, "thus connecting the pastor’s preaching with
the people’s Bible reading. This suggestion, if followed, would,
beyond any doubt whatever, produce a Re-Vitalized Church…."5
This plan would certainly create a great measure of cooperation between
pastor and congregation, and ought to be followed more than it is.
The preacher must demonstrate "by kindly word and virtuous life"
the message which he preaches. The Bible must be not only his source
for sermons, but his source of spiritual life and strength. His attitudes,
practices and ethics must be those of Biblical Christianity. The people
must be able to believe absolutely in his sincerity and personal holiness.
Carlos Greenleaf Fuller wrote an article entitled, "How to Preach
With Power," in which he described the preacher who led him to
Christ when he was a boy of fifteen: "In daily life that modest
preacher whom God used to open my eyes and heart to redemptive grace
lived where Peter and Paul lived…. He lived daily in an abiding
death and resurrection union with Christ…. Another apostolic
element in that preacher’s life was that he expounded Spirit-wielded
Scripture. Though he had had training and learning, he made no effort
to preach in the wisdom of man. The Bible was God’s revelation,
and since his own life was based on that unshakable conviction, he
spoke in the pulpit with great humility and holy boldness…when
he prayed, the Holy Spirit winged his words into my heart and gave
me the great blessing that a young man can know…."6
In preparing an expository sermon, the preacher should be enthusiastic
about his discoveries. H. E. Luccock said, "One first indispensable
equipment for communicating the truth in the Bible is a strong sense
of the romance of exegesis…sound exegesis, so far from being
a merely scholarly or scientific undertaking, can be a thrilling adventure
in discovery."7
As the preacher puts his sermon into shape his enthusiasm should increase.
As he continues his meditation and prayer over it, his enthusiasm
should continue to mount until he can hardly wait until time to preach.
In his pulpit presentation, he will communicate his enthusiasm as
well as his message. How can the expository preacher fail to be enthusiastic?
He speaks from the greatest Book ever written, and deals with the
most important truths ever revealed.
The conversational style of delivery is in vogue today. The speaker
addresses the audience as if he were in private conversation with
each person. This does not imply conver-sational volume and informality,
but conversational directness. The former cultivated eloquence and
soaring oratory is no more, except in rare instances. Listeners wish
a speaker to say what he has to say in the most direct and interesting
manner possible and be done with it. The conversational manner will
give interest and warmth to the quality of the speaker’s voice,
enabling him to vary the volume, pitch, quality and rate of delivery.
The expository preacher should be earnest, sincere, straightforward,
natural, alert, and animated in delivery. If he cannot overcome bad
speech faults such as nasality, throatiness, breathiness, raspiness,
squeakiness, harshness, thinness, and monotones, he should seek the
help of a qualified speech teacher. He should cultivate resonance,
depth, and melodiousness so that it will be a pleasure to hear him
speak.
The conversational preacher will maintain constant eye-contact with
his listeners, glancing from one to another as his sermon proceeds.
His gestures will be free and natural. They will express his feelings
and ideas without excess. The conversational speaker will show deep
respect for his audience, his message, and the Christian pulpit which
he occupies. His pulpit attire should be modest, neat, appropriate
and inconspicuous.
Style refers to the characteristic way one speaks or writes. It concerns
the speaker’s use of language and involves words, phrases, sentences,
and paragraphs. Many ministers fail to communicate properly because
they neglect style. They think that ideas are enough; the words will
take care of themselves. Consequently their style is dull, abstract,
and colorless. Broadus says the basic qualities of good sermon style
are clarity, energy of language, and elegance. Phelps lists them as
purity, precision, individuality, perspicuity, energy, elegance and
naturalness. Shedd enumerates them as plainness, force, beauty.
Because a sermon is a spoken message, the preacher should cultivate
an oral style consisting of clear words, simple words, exact words,
action words and picture words. He will do well to follow the example
of J. H. Jowett who constantly studied words. Words are his stock
in trade, and like G. Campbell Morgan, he should be the master of
them.
For clarity and interest the Reader’s Digest sets a splendid
example. For vividness and accuracy, the weekly magazine, Time,
can teach us a great deal. For beauty of style, couched in ancient
terms, the King James Version of the Bible cannot be surpassed; but
for beauty and accuracy of modern English, the Revised Standard Version
sets a high standard. We recom-mend the books of Andrew W. Blackwood,
a writer in the field of preaching and practical theology, whose style
measures up to all desirable standards. He is simple, clear, accurate,
elegant, and interesting. For one in the expository preaching field
today, whose style leaves little to be desired, we point to Paul S.
Rees. The best style draws least attention to itself. It conveys meaning
without coloring or hindering it. Time invested in improving one’s
style is never wasted but will bring lifelong dividends.
The Holy Spirit is the divine Communicator. He communicated the Scriptures
originally to holy men of God who recorded them under His inspiration.
The Holy Spirit makes the written Word vital in human experience.
One of the functions of the Spirit is to empower the preaching of
the Word of God. Prophetic preaching was in the power of the Holy
Spirit; the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus was in that
power, and apostolic preaching was in the energy of the divine Spirit.
Luke tells us of Jesus’ preaching: "He opened the book and
found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the
poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord’ " (Luke 4:17-19,
rsv).
If the expository preacher is to communicate his message effectively,
he must do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. If he is to interpret
Scripture correctly, discern its deeper meanings, quote it accurately,
make it luminous, and apply it incisively, he will need the backing
of the Holy Spirit.
The promise of the Spirit was connected with witnessing privately
and publicly. Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts
1:8, rsv).
Peter preached in the power of the Spirit: "Then Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and
elders…’ " (Acts 4:8, rsv). Paul preached in the power
of the Holy Spirit when he wrote:
Peter said that
the apostles were "those who preached the good news to you through
the Holy Spirit sent from heaven…" (I Peter 1:12, rsv).
How can we dare handle the Holy Scriptures in mere human wisdom and
energy when the Holy Spirit is available to empower us? In spite of
all the splendid modern translations of the Bible, the new lexical
aids, and the great commentaries old and new, our preaching will fail
to communicate the message and life of God if it depend solely on
these and does not call on the power of the Holy Spirit.
A. J. Gordon, speaking of the decline in preaching, said: "And
this decline is due, we believe, more than anything else, to an ignoring
of the Holy Spirit as the supreme inspirer in preaching. We wish to
see a great orator in the pulpit, forgetting that the least expounder
of the Word, when filled with the Holy Ghost, is greater than he….
The true preacher does not simply use the Spirit; he is used by the
Spirit. He speaks as one moving in the element and atmosphere of the
Holy Ghost, and mastered by his divine power."8
F. B. Meyer believed that the expository preacher had a right to expect
the cooperation of the Holy Spirit in handling sacred truth. He wrote:
"But—and this is the most pertinent point for our present
purpose, the Holy Spirit’s power proceeds along the line of the
Word of God, as the electric message along the wires. It is His sword;
the life-giving seed which He has vitalized; the word in which the
Word is incarnated. Through long centuries He has been at work communicating
to prepared natures the thoughts of God, and naturally He avails Himself
of His prerogative. The ministry, therefore, which is most carefully
based on Scripture and honors Scripture and saturates itself with
Scripture is the ministry which the Spirit of Truth can cooperate
with in the most perfect abandonment."9
G. Campbell Morgan believed essentially the same thing. He wrote:
"No man can do the work of God until he has the Holy Spirit,
and is endued with power. It is impossible to preach the gospel save
in the power of the Spirit, because none can comprehend the true meaning
of the Cross of Christ unless taught by the Spirit of God. Neither
a knowledge of the letter of the New Testament nor a system of theology,
is sufficient to equip for preaching the cross. Nothing short of the
immediate, direct, personal illumination of the Spirit is sufficient
equipment."10
Alexander Maclaren believed in and labored in the power of the Holy
Spirit. Speaking on Luke 24:49, "And, behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you…," he said: "The equip-ment for
work is investiture with divine power. A partial bestowment of the
Spirit, which is the Father’s promise, took place while Jesus
spoke. ‘I send’ refers to something done at the moment;
but the fuller clothing with that garment of power was to be waited
for in expectancy and desire. No man can do the Christian work of
witnessing for and of Christ without that clothing with power. It
was granted as an abiding gift on Pentecost. It needs perpetual renewal.
We may all have it. Without it, eloquence, learning, and all else,
are but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal."11
The preacher’s temptation is to trust himself and his preparation
rather than the Holy Spirit. With that attitude he never realizes
the power of the Spirit in his preaching. Alan Redpath put it this
way: "When our confidence is in gimmicks, programs, schemes,
and planning, and we have not learned to seek first the Lord in the
power of the Holy Spirit, in brokenness at Calvary, we inevitably
go on being defeated and losing the battle."12 We
must also recognize that preaching the Word of God, from the New Testament
point of view, involves supernatural forces. Human minds are supernaturally
darkened by sin and perverted by selfishness. Satanic powers resist
the entrance of light through the Word of God. Paul said,
Only as preachers
proclaim the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit can the living
Word step forth in supernatural strength to break through the communication
barriers. The writer to the Hebrews expressed it in these words: "For
the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before
him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes
of him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12-13, rsv).
The man in the pulpit could be a false prophet instead of the true
prophet he thinks he is. If he speaks without supernatural enduement,
the words of H. Grady Davis could be true of him: "He comes speaking
in the name of the Lord, but the Lord may have no control over him
and no influence on what he says…he may have no notion who the
Holy Spirit is…. He may be a false prophet."13
What can we expect the Holy Spirit to do in and through us in expository
preaching? He can guide us in choosing the right Scripture passages
for each occasion; guide us in the selection of books to buy and use
in studying the Bible; give us illumination and insight in studying
the passage; aid our memory to recall parallel passages and fitting
illustrations; give us joy in concentrating on the text and the strength
to push through the writing or verbalizing of the sermon; give us
boldness and confidence at the time of delivery; inspire us with new
thoughts during delivery and cause us to omit less appropriate ones.
He can unify the audience, create attentiveness, open hearts, and
apply the Word in both expected and unexpected ways. The Holy Spirit
can convict, convert, comfort, inspire, reprove, correct, and instruct
in righteousness. He can fix the Word in the minds and memories of
hearers so that it becomes fruitful like the seed on good soil. How
foolish to try to prepare sermons and preach them apart from the power
of the Spirit!
How can the pastor assure himself that he will be preaching in the
power of the Holy Spirit and not merely in the energy of the flesh?
Perhaps there is no infallible way. We know so little about ourselves
and our motives on the one hand, and so little about the deep things
of the Spirit on the other, that it is unlikely we could lay out a
formula and say, "If I follow this, I shall be certain to preach
in the power of the Holy Spirit." Unknown to us, pride, selfishness,
worldliness, or laziness can creep in and obstruct the way to power.
A few general observations ought to be in order, assuming that preparation
has been done as recommended:
The preacher must be born again and know that he is truly a converted
man, with sins forgiven and possessing sonship in the family of God,
if he would preach in the Spirit’s power.
He must pursue depth studies in the Bible. He should be immersed in
the Word of God as a daily practice, exploring, absorbing, using and
memorizing it.
He must be absolutely obedient to the Lord. He cannot compromise or
divide allegiance. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7, kjv).
Another condition for preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit is
a life of prayer. Power in preaching and pastoral work will normally
be in direct proportion to the amount of time spent in prayer. We
never have time to pray unless we make it. In times of prayer and
waiting on God, the Spirit can come to us in His gracious ministry
of teaching, guiding, comforting and strengthening.
Personal witnessing must be a practice if we would know the power
of the Spirit. God gives the Spirit for the purpose of witnessing
to Christ (Acts 1:8) and He honors those who witness by giving them
more of the Spirit. Personal witnessing to individuals will keep us
fresh, fragrant and fruitful. Its spiritual impact carries over into
preaching.
