Lecture Introduction: Preaching Is a Great Thing

[Music] we're beginning a series together a series of videos on preaching and i would say preaching as worship because that's what i think preaching is or my phrase that i love to use to describe preaching preaching as expository exaltation which we'll be explaining later on preaching is a great thing let me think of it first corinthians chapter 1 verse 21 since in the wisdom of god it pleased god that the world not know god through its wisdom rather we know him through the folly of preaching that we might be saved preaching is the means that god is appointed in spite of the inadequacy of the wisdom of man to save people from everlasting destruction i mean what could be weightier what could be more glorious than to say that the task of preaching is to become the instrument in the hands of the sovereign god to rescue people from perishing and help them stay on the road that leads to life that's a great thing or paul says in ephesians chapter 3 verse 8 we preach the unsearchable riches of christ i mean how many people get to spend their lives dealing with unsearchable riches that's what preachers do we spend our lives living in unsearchable riches of christ and praying and working to help make them plain for other people and then there's this amazing verse in 2nd timothy 4 where paul introduces his simple two-word command like this in the presence of god timothy in the presence of god and of jesus christ who is ready to judge the living and the dead by his kingdom and his appearing preach the word i mean there's no introduction to a command anywhere in the bible like that i mean there are other similar ones that's as full as it gets in the presence of god in the presence of christ who is ready to judge the living and the dead by his kingdom by his appearing preach the word timothy don't you think the point of that introduction is to elevate those two words herald the word preach the word to a point of ultimate seriousness that's the way i feel it so preaching is a great thing it's not the only thing you're going to hear me say very plainly in this series that there are other absolutely crucial dimensions to ministry both for the preacher and for the church but it is a great thing and i would argue an essential thing it is not the same as teaching it's not the same as sharing it's not the same as discussing it is declaring and heralding and proclaiming like a town crier we're going to talk about that it's not the same as any other form of communication it is unique god has appointed it to do things nothing else can do i think the reason is so remarkable and appointed for such unique and powerful purposes in the church and in worship is that it's rooted in the nature of the very being of god let me try to explain what i mean this is heavy god as a trinity the ultimate original father though the spirit and the son are co-eternal with the father the father eternally begets the son the son and the father eternally spirate the spirit so that you have three persons in the godhead but when you step back and let the bible shape how you think about that you realize a couple of things god knows god perfectly jesus the son is the perfect exact image and representation and essence of god hebrews 1. so when god beholds himself in this perfect image of himself he knows himself perfectly god is from all eternity a perfect knower of god and when the son and the father contemplate one another know one another look at one another there arises between them they're proceeds from them a spirit and that spirit is in his essence the love that they have for each other he's more he's personal he carries all that they are so that he stands forth as a separate person in his own right but he is in that essence the love that the son has for the father and the father has for the son therefore we can say god loves god from all eternity god sees himself with infinite perfection god savors himself with infinite perfection this is my beloved son in whom i am may we add the word infinitely well-pleased yes we may he he doesn't look at his son with anything less than infinite pleasure okay if god in his very being from all eternity is a god who knows perfectly and a god who loves perfectly a god who sees his glory and a god who savors his glory what do you think those created in his image are going to be like i think god created us the way we are so that we would glorify him that way capacities to know him truly and capacities to love him duly know him see him his glory for what he really is insofar as he grants us to see him and hearts to savor cherish delight in be satisfied by his worth so to know his truth and to love his worth now preaching is the appointed means of communication that unlike any other unites those two in the regular ministry of the revelation of god to a people that's why i call it expository exaltation expository it brings out the truth of god and it exalts over the worth of god and in its exercise of exposition and exaltation it not only embodies that worship and that glorification of god through knowing and loving it imparts it to others that's the great calling that's the great task by doing exposition bringing out reality that's in the text and verbalizing it for the understanding of those created in the image of god and exalting over what we have seen and what we have said so that our hearts are appropriately responding to the beauty of what's there they can come awake with us to that truth and that worth so i don't think preaching is a small thing i don't think it's optional i don't think discussion can replace it teaching can't replace it conversing can't replace it and no believe me i believe in teaching i believe in conversation is essential to life i believe in counseling i believe in all kinds of word ministry that are not preaching and how important they are in the church you'll hear more about that later but oh how i want you to see preaching as a glorious thing there is nothing like it in the world and i think god has appointed it for the awakening and the strengthening and the preservation of a supernatural community called the worshipping church so i'm eager i'm really eager to walk with you through our thinking together in these videos

Channel: Desiring God

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Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism

Id: 8sMA3uUn-38

Length: 11min 0sec (660 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 03 2021