Elder Henry Wright - "The Man in the Sermon" - HMS Richards Lectureship 2001

I'm especially delighted and honored to be able to introduce our our guest presenter our featured presenter for the agent miss Richards lectureship 2001 to you at this time our speaker is elder Henry right I want to say that the lectureship committee has had our eye on him for several years we've been trying to get him in fact for several years we had contacted him once before and he was not able to work that out with his schedule and the timing just wasn't right but finally it's worked out praise the Lord we have him here with us now currently pastor pastor Wright elder Wright is pastor Evangelist of the community praise 7th Avenue in Alexandria Virginia which just happens to be I might add one of the most rapidly growing seventh-day Adventist churches in the world in the world when he went there not too many years ago struggling congregation some might even say withering a little bit on the vine but things have dramatically turned around I remember that church pastor Wright I had a wedding there some years ago when I was there in the Washington area and it's a beautiful building and I understand you've done some further work and a reconstruction and I'm sure it's even lovelier I've seen on the videotape but I haven't actually been there since the restoration but anyway elder Wright is pastor evangelist there but through the years he served the seventh-day Adventist Church and many many important other important capacities he served as pastor evangelist for example in Jackson Mississippi where he started out and in Cleveland Ohio but he's also just to give you a little bit of a feel for some of his experiences if I were to go through his full resume would take forever an associate professor pastoral ministry and preaching at Oakwood college and anybody here a former student I've heard from a lot of your former students they're waiting anxiously we're ready waiting for anxiously free to come adjunct professor of preaching at Columbia College where I myself had the privilege of teaching and we're we have students here from from there as well as you could tell and he was past president of the Allegheny West a conference of seventh-day adventists and I knew him while he was in that capacity and also served as vice-president of the Columbia Union Conference of seventh-day adventists that's just to name a few of his major responsibilities but in summary I would like to say that elder Wright has long been recognized as one of Adventism very finest leaders administrators and preachers while he's far too humble to place that tag on himself it's simply true it's simply true God has really given him wonderful gifts of leadership and preaching now I've known this personally for a long long time having had the privilege of working with him and observing him in the Columbia Union while he was there as vice president of the Union and then as president of the Allegheny West Conference and I've watched him up close at times and noticed how God has been blessing him especially during the 1980s elder right I had the privilege of teaching in the theology department at Columbia Union College and I always appreciated I always appreciated allocating West coming Henry whenever he could personally or his ministerial secretary when he could not make it but he often was there himself and he would go he would come in and meet as we asked all the presidents to do but not all of them came well Allegheny West was almost always there if not always an elder right would interview the students for the possibility of offering sponsorships and I tell you the students when they came out of the interview with him always were encouraged and inspired about ministry as he shared with him even if he couldn't afford to you know sponsor them all which was impossible anyway whenever he could he did but he encouraged and uplift them about their call to ministry and I tell you that tells you a lot about a man or a woman that tells you a lot when they encourage young people were thinking about ministry that they're there to encourage and support and have been uplift and of course I always also think of his signature preaching he has watered my souls and he probably doesn't realize it many many times as I've sat under his feet myself and been fed along with many many others you know his preaching to me has always been powerful descriptive based on good solid biblical scholarship Scripture driven always passionate and at the same time preached from the standpoint that you knew that he knew he was simply a humble vessel of God and the talents that you've been given powerful and as wonderful as they are all come from the Lord and you'll see that I'm sure throughout his presentation today and so that is so so important by the way I'll write I remember when you came to our senior dedication service for our graduating theology majors one year you preached a sermon called the cry of the Widow's mite I will never forget that sermon it's burned deeply in my mind and heart I'm I could probably preach it for you I just want you to know I never not like him of course not anywhere nowhere near like him I just want to give you fair warning though that I've been tempted to steal that sermon many times I've resisted so far but I want you to know that I'm weakening and and I'm likely I'm very likely to just steal that thing and preach it I'll give you credit but I will I will preach that rascal because it was a wonderful and inspiring sermon and I have a tape of it I have a tape of it so elder right Henry I want to thank you for taking time out of your very busy pastoral schedule to come to us from front the front lines of ministry to talk to us about what I know you're passionate about preaching preaching that's what we're here for so god bless you to share with us today and again welcome to Andrews University welcome to the seminary welcome to the hms richards lectureship on preaching let's give them a hand good morning it is indeed a honor and a privilege for me to be here I've looked forward to it I rushed from my pulpit yesterday having preached twice morning and the traditional service leader and went to Reagan National Airport where thank God the lines were not real long and was able to get in yesterday evening nice and early and I'm looking forward to our sharing together and that's what it is it's a sharing together I do not come with any lofty credentials I have come to appreciate but also be fearful of introductions and ken was very kind very kind but only God really knows who I am and in His mercy and His grace he has allowed me to be one of his servants I counted a privilege to be a minister in the seventh-day Adventist Church and I'm always hard and ambled I tremble at what God has asked me to do all of my life and for me what I do is not an option it is what I must do ministry listen to me listen to me ministry is the only way that the Lord can save my soul so ministry for me is not an option this hard head this stiff neck this stubborn choleric melancholic needs ministry or God can't trust him any other way and I want that to kind of stick in your brain because you may have some misconceptions about why you are in ministry it is not your gifts but your needs that bring you to ministry and if you have any misunderstanding about that then go back and study the life of each of the Apostles a messed up polyglot confused hard-headed almost impossible riffraff of the garbage of humanity 12 men chosen from the bottom of the barrel who were emotionally and mentally and spiritually difunctional but God saw in them that molded in his hand they could become powerhouses to his glory so if you think for one minute that you've been called to ministry because of something that you have I would suggest to you you have been called because of you are and what you are is a sinner saved by grace I'll say Amen for you amen amen amen and so with this context with this sense of reality I'll spend the next few hours sharing with you sharing with you about something that is only really a part of what I do depending upon what book you read or what conversation you are in or what lecture or seminary or workshop you attend the answer is all very when the question is asked what is the most important thing that a preacher does and the answers will cover a wide spectrum of activity yes we visit yes we counsel yes we plan but no matter what is chosen out of a book or what conversation or what workshop you attend long enough it will be agreed that if preaching is not the most important thing we do it is an important thing that we do preaching is a part of my profession and the minister must be a professional as well as a spiritual person I'll say it again you must be a professional person as well as a spiritual person and therefore the Holy Spirit has the right to demand that what you do you do correctly don't tell me about a call the call must be turned into a function and you can't be so spiritually high that or no earthly good and a preacher that cannot preach is an insult to the Holy Spirit you must be good in board meetings you must be professional in counseling you must be astute and all that you do and when you stand up with God's book in your hand you ought to know what you're doing and why you're doing it and where you're going and what results you're seeking to achieve and you ought to claim those results in every sermon in fact for many people that you pastor and many of your relatives and friends who know that you are a pastor or a preacher or intend to be one for many of them they go equate your existence with preaching when I was in the South where I started Mississippi they did not call me pastor they called me preacher so preaching is the one thing you do with which you are most identified therefore I say again without apology you ought to be good at it and don't come to me with this foolishness about some people being better at preaching than other people don't talk to me about this stuff called black preaching God is not partial to color yellow red black or white you ought to be able to preach your head off with power and conviction with confidence that your dogs man nobody has a corner on the market of preaching except those who have made good preaching a part of their agenda you are what you emphasizing in by saying you need to desire to be a good preacher that's not egotism that's practicality you need to desire to be a good preacher and you need to always be measuring yourself against yourself for my favorite definition of preaching is God's Spirit through his word working in human personality for his glory human personality for his glory which means that you have the right to expect God to do as much through you as he does through me or through Pearson or through or through anybody else too dangerous to start naming preachers don't ever insult the Holy Spirit by seeking to emulate some other preacher the Holy Ghost does not make mistakes he called you that means he believes he can use you that means he believes in your gifts your abilities and therefore the Holy Ghost does not need you to stand up and try to sound like somebody else if that was his goal if that was his desire that he would just have one person as his preacher but rather he has spread himself to all of us and therefore expects each one of us to allow him to work through each of us the way he wants to so therefore you you can preach that was a weak response you can preach [Applause] think it dream it pray it practice it learn it do it you can preach you can get caught up in the Holy Ghost your eyes burning with fire your lips touched by the coals from heaven you can do it don't be mamby-pamby and weak-kneed about it you can do it it's been time and your study grab hold of the reins of God's truth walk forth in that place with your back straight and your mind set and then wear them out by God's grace in that pulpit we're about because of what God can do through you see Bradford and forward to his book preaching to the times rights this movement the Advent movement owes its present position listen to this Brad is on it Brad is on it owes its present position to the passion for preaching that compelled the Pioneers to go and tell it page 11 of his book preaching to the times in fact it can be argued that as much or more than anything a minister does it is preaching that identifies our profession most judge your ministry by your preaching heard Brad say once and I agree with him the Saints will forgive you for many siblings but they will not forgive you for not being able to preach we can trace the lineage of our profession biblically to Enoch the seventh from Adam Ellen White enlightens this brief scriptural record with the following insight she says Enoch became a preacher of righteousness making known to the people what God had revealed to him he labored publicly also bearing God's message to all who would hear the words of warning the power of God that wrought with his servant was felt by those who heard page 86 of her book patriarchs and prophets Enoch preached Enoch was publicly known for preaching Enoch was effective in what he did now today in my presentations I'm going to deal with after this morning two areas of preaching that are seldom talked about in the presentation at three I'm going to talk about imagination in preaching tonight I'm going to talk about timing and emphasis in preaching see I assume as I come to you in the seminary that you've heard the basics of preaching you know something about sermon structure you know about expository preaching and topical preaching and narrative preaching and and the various kinds of preaching that we do you know about the various eight kinds of outlines eglee and then points out lines and and jewel outlines and all that kind of thing I assume you've gotten that but we need to refine our art and I'm gonna be very very pointed in all my presentations that I want you to learn to work at preaching I've been at at 36 years I'm still learning because unfortunately preaching must be conveyed through this ill-equipped sinful sometimes forgetful sometimes all-too-human person and so there is no such thing as a preacher who has achieved all preachers are seeking for the mark I was not happy with my second sermon yesterday at all left the pulpit just frustrated mentioned to my wife she of course just wore me out it was a wonderful sermon I don't want to hear it stay out of God's business you did the best you could do God did the rest I was blessed please shut up and get on the plane now I'm blessed my wife enjoys my preaching and I take that seriously because she is a victim of my ministry and whatever I preach a sermon I think about her first she's compelled to my ministry and so she must see the kingdom of God and so for no one else but her at least my sermons must be powerfully spiritually active dedicated content wise for her sake for she could my ministry if she wasn't sitting there and therefore she deserves to get the best from her husband every time and frankly I'll be honest with you when I get done with a sermon if my wife says was a good sermon I don't care what you say [Applause] because she's heard me more than anybody else now we get in the car and she's a little quiet I just thank God that she's quiet and so there are certain presuppositions I bring you've had some formal training I did for granted that you were acquainted with the writings of Ellen T white and I still believe in her without apology whatever problems you have there I'll pray for you we got a gift folk and finally I take for granted that those who are in attendance may be upset through lectures like this before but you see this as an opportunity for refreshment and I accept that and today we pray that you will indeed be refreshed let's get now to the first to meet we want to get into for today I want to talk about the man in the sermon the man in the sermon first Corinthians the first chapter first Corinthians the first chapter and of course you've probably anticipated me we will look at that most disturbing verse verse 23 and then we will go to verse 21 but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling-block unto the Greeks foolishness foolishness you've been called to preach foolishness Wow how um bleah and then verse 21 says for after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not god it pleased bit pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe foolishness morals is the word in the Greek Morros describes a dull foolish morally worthless person worthless in heart and in character now the thing that really works me over every time I stand in the pulpit dr. Jones is this God through some miracle of grace as condescended to take a sinner and use him to talk to sinners use her to talk to sinners I just want you to dwell on it for a while my brother and how dare we ever be arrogant up there this is holy ground don't you ever walk up here fully yourself don't you dare walk up here unprepared because that's your best you're still foolishness and this is why what you do here must be predicated by what you do before you get here on most Sabbath's I'm doing two sermons now I do two different sermons every Sabbath psychologically I am NOT built psychologically emotionally to pour myself into the same sermon twice on a given Sabbath I cannot do that so two different sermons ladies and gentlemen we're talking about hours of work an average sermon for me is five-and-a-half to six pages of double-spaced particular font I use the reading the research I'm doing now between 20 and 30 hours per week but that stud listened to me that study I'm doing and preaching is not sufficient because there must be Jim Clements that personal time with God beyond preparing sermons so that God can use this foolishness to his glory Gardner Taylor in his book how shall they preach says one could accept the curious arrangement which we call preaching if he could honestly assign to the preacher any esoteric knowledge of the ways of God with man or with God as much as men are able to appropriate the divine mind the humless listen the humless layperson has the same access as the man or woman whose vocation is that of the preacher the preacher does not enjoy right to any esoteric knowledge of God denied to those to whom one preaches you see one of the problems of the preacher is his people and the fact is is that those old deacons in Mississippi and those old Deaconess somewhere in in Michigan they are not impressed with your Masters of Divinity degree they know another master and so when you come to them spouting your stuff and it may be good stuff but old cysts and old brother had been on their knees with God all during the week and they know the man they know him they have the same access to him that you do my brother they have the same time for prayer maybe more than you have so when you stand up before them understand that your first problem is that they have the same access to the knowledge of God that you have so it's not that you have more you are a catalyst to what they have you didn't get it I'll say it again it's not that you have more you are a catalyst to what they have you see the real genius of preaching is that it taps something in the listener it doesn't just put something in the listener it taps something in the listener so your experience in God connects with their experience in God and there is a bomb plastic explosion of God's power and they have Church and you have Church not because what you say is so great but because they too brought to the table their experience with Jesus Christ and that experience may be richer than yours so the first challenge of the man in the sermon is the fact that the pre people that he preaches to may have us have as much access and they know as much about the God they're talking about as the preacher who is preaching they have no degree some of them and of course we were seven the evidence preachers but the mic we must be very careful because our members in many cases know the word they know it when you read your text they whisper to the person next to him I know what he's gonna talk about today I heard pastor so-and-so preach on that five years ago don't get carried away with your knowledge base you're a catalyst I want to put that in your brain you're a catalyst that's what you are you're a catalyst you bring what you have connect it to what they have and then a worship experience takes place and explodes oh every now and then you may say something they haven't heard before in a way they've never heard it but don't get carried away with it and the Saints sometimes can be very kind so they'll come through the line they'll say oh brother pastor god bless you what a man of God God spoke through you today don't get carried away she has said that to every pastor that's ever been now don't get carried away Oh sis didn't God use you today oh I thank God for you got a pastor from God in our church for the past 50 years to the past 16 pastors she's been saying that the Saints encourages because sometimes they know our weakness better than we do so the first thing you've got to deal with is that you don't have a better access to God than your people you also have access I keep reading the role of the preacher would be more reasonable still quoting dr. Taylor the role of the preacher would be more reasonable to the mind if they who preach would assert truthfully that they enjoy by virtue of their office as a preacher our moral superiority to those to whom they address the gospel first problem they have the same access to God and knowledge as you do second problem is your life you haven't been called to be a minister because you are morally and spiritually superior I mean you do know that don't you in fact Ellen White puts it this way the Lord would have his people divested of everything unscriptural in regard to the ministry this is testimonies to ministers page 404 testimonies to ministers page 404 the Lord would have his people divested of everything unscriptural in regard to the ministry the men called to the ministry should not be made idols of and that's why whenever someone even a good friend like dr. Ken speaks of me as with this gift and that gift I just kind of bow my head quietly and say lord have mercy see he knows me better than I know me and I know me and ladies and gentlemen I can say you today I am NOT standing here because of any outstanding moral worth but because of an outstanding grace from heaven that loves Henry Munroe right and when I preach with passion and I often do it's because sometimes I get filled up with the goodness of my god toward me and in those moments I get lost in the pulpit I don't need your amens I don't need your encouragement because I am so encouraged myself by the fact that the Lord has hung in with this man wakes me up every morning blesses me every day and in kindness and grace uses me to his glory and when I get caught up in that yes I preach it's my consciousness of his love for me that brings from the depth of my soul exaltation of praise to God I preach because in that moment my preaching becomes witness I want to dwell on that a bit longer so the first concern is you don't have more knowledge than a lot of your members you don't have any greater access to God than they do but the second issue is your life your life and your your life is witness your life is a witness I often think about the fact that over the years and I have all over this world just finished a very successful crusade and Swaziland South Africa and and often as I as I preach and I begin to really tell the story of Jesus Christ I become very conscious in that moment that what God has done through me and for me really is the greatest gift that I bring to ministry now think about what I just said see when I stand and preach I'm really in every sermon in a different way talking about what God has done for me have you ever read portions of Paul's sermons in the New Testament can he never preaches without in some way telling a story see that's another reason why you do the Lord God great injustice to ever emulate somebody else's preaching because you have had experiences I've never had God called you because he wants to tap into those experiences to help somebody else that's why you're in the ministry that's why you're called because the Lord knows you've been through some things I've not been through you can tell the story different than me that's why one of my favorite exercises in a preaching class is to let people take one verse everybody write a sermon on that verse walk the whole day go show off in that exercise he milked something different from every person why because we have in our own life experience something very very special and what we have is the experience of God saving us from sin now well I'm on that that doesn't mean that you spend every sermon celebrating your sins now I know it's a popular thing for people who have been out there selling dope and and running with gangs too you'll begin to troupe all around the country telling their story I know it's a popular thing it's a popular thing it's a popular thing in preaching pardon my English you ain't the subject Jesus is hid your stuff lightly so I don't need to know how many folks you've slept with how much dope you sold you can tell me in a few brief sentences I was out there it was rough God found me then just talk about God does anybody listen to me right now preach Jesus and let your life be a testimony as to what God can do in a sinner I hope you're really paying attention to me right now and what I'm saying I'm saying without apology I know it's dynamic to talk about how far people have come but what I notice in the Bible is that the Bible writers almost have an embarrassment about their past life they tend to push and extol Jesus Christ let the church say Amen so you have these two realities your life the people because one other there's one other there's one other who that's why preaching is foolishness first your members have the same access to God you have they may know more than you know you know some of your members have read all of Ellen White's books through from page to page some of your members have read the Bible through every years as they've been been a Christian every year since they were a Christian they've read the Bible through I can recall when I left here with my master's degree they sent me to four churches in Mississippi Rainville Hallandale Cleveland and Leyland my big church had 40 members my headquarters church at 40 members Allendale had 12 members Leyland had 7 members all of whom I had to go pick up as they had no cars and there were no men let me taste some of the seminary this is just a sidetrack let me tell you something the seminary does not prepare you for the seminary does not prepare you to wash your own feet at communion [Applause] you see in Leland says I had seven women so when you have communion who's gonna wash your feet brother I mean you tell me how would you handle it and so the most unlink experience with your master's degree coming out of the seminary is to go back into this little hovel of a study and take off your shoes and socks and wash your own feet now why am I telling you that story because you need to understand that when you seek to do the Lord's work you must be ready to do the Lord's work under any circumstances that he allows and when I start talking about the man in the sermon his life his people and now I want to talk about his god what I'm saying to you is that one we got to find a way to work on this skin because think he's coming off but we'll work it out yeah side pocket alright alright preachers side pocket I don't like it there not only are you confronted with your life and the people but you're confronted with subject matter that's always beyond you they have as much access to God as you their life may be more spiritually strong than you but then you're going to spend your life please listen teaching out of a book whose depth is beyond you and you can have ma da PhD PhD but you will never ever reach the bottom of the well called the Bible and I want to get you set this morning in my first presentation how awesome this thing of preaching is because not only are the people praying as much as you not only are the people's lives as strong as yours in many cases but the fact is you are trying to conquer and master a subject that's beyond your grasp how can we by searching find out God Joe vast and today I want to I want to begin by reducing us letting us see ourselves in the real perspective here we are that's why it's foolishness foolishness to take a sinner to preach the centers on a subject you can never understand foolishness you got to get this I can't say anything else to you get this so that your egos get in the right place never never let me go get out of place as a preacher because you're handling a subject that no matter how well you say it now a minute how much Greek you learn how much how much Hebrew you can read and I can do both but there is no word in any English language that can grasp the almighty that can explain his who knows they cause this chiton says in this book the day that I can explain God in a word then a word is all he is if Ellen White suggests to us in great controversy that we will spend eternity studying the plan of salvation eternity never ends so if we're going to spend eternity studying the plan of salvation then how much do we know now don't get carried away when you leave here with your degree systematic theology that was my major old a New Testament that was my minor A's go check my record oh yeah I was a good student here in the light of the subject matter what I knew you could cover and have space left on a pinhead so be humble when you stand up read your text trepidatious name knowing you study your notes are there you got some good stuff but don't get carried away my brother because whatever you say there's more to be said whatever you know there's a lot more you don't know it Rob profound you are your profundity stinks in the light of his great intelligence keep yourself humble before God they cause your life and the people and the subject matter or all something that confound the very thing that you do the preacher therefore is an anomaly and yet I must confess it I love it I love it and after 36 years I'm having the best ministry of my life a church full of young adults average age of my congregation is 33 between the two services we preach to over a thousand people every Sabbath my head Deaconess is 31 my head Deaconess 32 my church treasurer is 26 it's a young adult church and we have Church Mike do we have Church there's a young preacher there and there's a young preacher there both those boys said in my class but remember what your professor is saying and never forget it your life and the people you deal with and the subject matter that you handle will always be conundrums you must deal with in your ministry and so the Adventist preacher must preach with the following context in mind first he must preach and I must preach conscious of Who I am let's say it together I'm a sinner saved by grace say it I'm a sinner saved by grace say it again that's the context in which you preach saved by the message you preach folks you have to forgive me after this after Paul's for a minute hallelujah saved by the message I preached hallelujah Oh et mems told me longtime preacher retired now will the great preachers of this church hmm said to me he said Henry never get up and preach a sermon that didn't first warm your heart and I'll be honest with you sometimes in my study I just have to put the books down can I have to get up start walking and let that stuff kind of pump its way through me because I found something that's so good I can't sit on it and I walk around and I just kind of do that I go back to my books and I sit down home because it's just so done what is done for me can't stand it and I never get up without that consciousness of who I am secondly the preacher must get up understanding how he is who he is how he is how is he he is an unfinished work who he is as a sinner how he is is somebody being worked on Paul said it well didn't he not as though I was already perfect I follow after and sometimes young lady the sermons that you preach are doing more for you than the people can I get a witness somewhere and you rise up in the pulpit and your face has to fight back the tears because it's done so much for you so Who I am and how I am I'm being worked on I'm an unfinished product and brothers and sisters preach to your people that way don't be so hard don't be so high up there unfinished to and for some of them just coming to church that morning was a victory they don't feel good about themselves and they they feel down about themselves and they're just not so sure that morning what they believe and not even so sure they want to be there that words of understanding and comfort come to them my brother let him come be sure as it pours to you that it pours to them let them feel that the pastor understands that all of us are a how I am and unfinished work first - I am how I am and then the preacher must preach with the consciousness of why I am let me read this text Jeremiah Jeremiah this text blows my mind and sometimes when I get discouraged and I sometimes do thank God not often I go and read this text Jeremiah 1 verse 4 forgive me folks this thing is just so sweet to me then the word of the Lord came unto me saying before I formed in the belly I knew thee come on Henry get up stop whining about it you'll be all right no the lordy didn't go well no they voted down everything you present that's all right long before the board was formed I saw you had my eyes on you and I called you and I've not changed my mind though the board voted down everything I'm still with you and I will be with you until the end of time get on up and plan the next board meeting do a bit more homework this time don't go in so cocky this time maybe call up the first elder ahead of the meeting this time get the Deaconess on your side before you have it voted the next time but God cause before you were formed in your mother when sperm connected with with with egg and became marula and zygote and then became a fetus and became a baby I had my hands on you that's why I am I'm here because the Lord needed a preacher named Henry Monroe right he knew my name before my parents gave it to me come on say skeet somebody say man this morning hallelujah I'm no accident I'm no conjuring up out of the earth out of the mixed amino acids and and and my grandpa's not an amoeba but my dad is the father in heaven and my brother is Jesus Christ the righteous that's why I am called to preach get some backbone in your preacher and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee for a prophet unto the nations then said I our Lord God behold I cannot speak for I'm a child and I can remember this man standing before you right now I can remember that if I had to stand up in front of a group of people and say a memory verse I would cry scared to death shy unable to talk well look at me now and even though I get nervous nervous coming here and sweating you shook my hands they were cold one thing ain't cold now brother I'm in God's hands the part of God's plan so Who I am how I am Who I am and then and then I must peach in the context of when I am let me say something to you special whoa I'm a member of the seventh-day Adventist Church over there in second chronicles they said that there was a tribe name it's a car had a gift they understood the times but the text doesn't stop there young man he has understood the times and they knew what to do about it we are a wind church and Jim we are the remnant Church and Jim we understand that the Lord is soon to come no we don't get carried away with September 11th don't do that to the Saints there'll be other events yet to come don't take one event act like this is it now don't do that that's false eschatology it happened it was serious it was a tap on the shoulder but a lot of other stuff that hadn't happened yet so keep it in context but know that you preached in the last days you have a last day message as I stood before the king of Swaziland the first Protestant minister ever allowed to preach to the king of Swaziland is standing before you right now and opened the Bible before him he went to 75-minute schools and I took my text out of Daniel where God said to Daniel the Belshazzar you knew all this we had Church in that palace the last night before I left that country we are a people who have a last day message we're on the cutting edge of the gospel we understand the times and we do so not arrogantly but with a sense of urgency and please when you leave the seminary understand that the folks need to be able to hear you preach the great prophecies of the Bible talk about those seven churches talk about those seven seals hallelujah talk about those seven trumpets talk about the 2300 days preach that stuff preach the sanctuary service the Adventists unique contribution to biblical theology preach it and see the eyes of the Saints be stirred see people who visit or not members of our church see their eyes light up whence cometh this gospel it's in the book we preach not only because of who we are and how we are and why we are but because of when we are will last day preachers take pride in it don't rise above other denominations don't place yourself a brother above other preachers but just know you've got something to contribute you have an awareness of the events and go at it with confidence and with purpose but study study study study study study study and I get sick and tired of visiting churches and hearing 70 Adventist preachers preaching copycat sermons they've gotten off some record some tape trying to sound like Martin Luther King reach the truth preach the Advent message with confidence and power it still pins people back over because also had the privilege while I was in Swaziland of being the first Protestant pastor to preach to the Parliament I preached kid on the Ten Commandments God's plan for a safe nation that was my subject woo and show how the law of God if followed would produce a nation with no crime no rape no stealing huh and what they said they said Reverend we've not heard it on this wise before now they weren't praising me they thought they were they had been bowled over by the power of a win message we preach because of where we are now watch me watch me you must always as a pastor preach your sermons in the context of the congregation that you have few of us will ever get to Pastor pioneer memorial just one pulpit one brother there now with a pastoral team he's got it covered don't hold your breath till they call you but your parish my Church in Cleveland had two people sister Robinson and sister Robert son and they couldn't get along but that's where I was listen to me that's where I was I renamed it the Caddy the the Cleveland Bible study club couldn't call it a church with two people renamed it but a sign out there Cleveland Bible study club but dry don't laugh at me Jones it was it was it was I'm doing the best that could man I throw the best it could and and put up a little sign put him a little sign and then sister Roberts son had a little daughter named Kentucky wasn't baptized gave Bible study she was my first baptism in Cleveland begin to get a few other people to come well now where I am this is not the time for lofty theological expositions of Romans 7 Robertson Robinson not interested it's time with two people who can't get along to preach sermons about love cooperation understanding patience come on vote you got to preach in terms of where you are not just who and how and why but where and do not spend your time at an assignment waiting to go to the next assignment insulting God's people and insulting the Holy Ghost because you're dissatisfied with where you are think more of yourself than that Billy Alexandria where we are now my first Sabbath 57 people 57 people just past Sabbath 1200 what do you do you roll up your sleeves get in that study open up this book get the commentaries get the Bible Atlas get the lexicons do your work pray visit preach pray visit plan program preach roll up your sleeves god guarantees results you want a big church preach one into existence learn about where you are preach to where you are you've got four Saints that's all you got and preach your best sermons to small groups if you are concerned as you present and understand as you preach who you are how you are why you are when you are to where you are then you'll be upheld by who he is that's it for this morning god bless you stand for prayer please will you meet me at three three will getting more the practical stuff gonna talk about the use of the met we don't have a good time at three o'clock as we talk about the use of the imagination and some skills you can develop so that you're preaching and your language becomes more appealing and picturesque I think we ought to talk about that let's go on hands together all the way across the aisle Lord thank you when I first got this invitation from Ken I wasn't really sure why you and I know I'm really not a great preacher but I am a hard worker and I believe in what I do for God's glory I'm just sharing I'm bringing what Henry Wright can bring not a scholar got a good mind though Lord thank you but what I bring to this group during these next few hours is my enthusiasm and my practiced knowledge of what I do preaching to the glory of God let my words and the meditation of my heart Lord be acceptable in thy sight and then let it drop like rain on these fresh fields and may their spring up courage hope and determinations well you and I talked about this morning Lord I want them to be encouraged I want them to have more hope and determination that they can be great preachers for God in their own right according to their gifts their personality and their experience in you that's all I'm asking for Lord if you just do that then the time I've spent here will not be in vain walk with us now for the remainder this day bring us back at 3:00 as we work together again in Christ's name Amen bless you you've got a good class thank you

Channel: Richard Martin

Views: 6,484

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Id: ukkQs_KPyaU

Length: 68min 42sec (4122 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021