Expository Preaching Blog #11 – “Application and the Holy Spirit!”

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I am convinced that most evangelical preachers and churches do not believe in the Holy Spirit. If they say they do in their doctrinal statement they certainly do not in their preaching. They constantly try to take over the role of the Holy Spirit.

My purpose and goal as a Bible preacher it to preach, herald or proclaim the Word of God. I am to preach what it says, not what I think. On a recent Sunday morning I sat in a service where the preacher said everything about what he thinks and not what God says. He has his reasons, his goal, his ambitions and his thoughts. He used a lot of Bible verses but not a single passage of scripture. He was preaching on “Listening to God” but he himself was not listening to God nor could he tell others how to listen to God. He didn’t even expound the text that he gave for his sermon. He summarized the narrative of the text in about one minute but he did nothing more than that. He was telling the congregation to “listen to God” when he himself did not listen to God. God speaks through His Word not the preacher. The preacher is to preach God’s Word, not his own words.

I make it a practice to do very little application in my preaching. If God makes application in the passage then I preach the passage and it included God’s application. I never make an application that God does not make. It is God’s Word not my word. Then how is application made? That is the job of the Holy Spirit. That is not my job.

It is not my job to tell people how to live. I have had people tell me that they attend church so that the preacher can tell them how to live. I never accept from the preacher (who is human, totally depraved and only human) how to live. Though many, many have tried. I take instructions on how to spiritually live only from God. He alone is holy, omniscient and omnipotent.

As I preach God’s Word the Holy Spirit will take His Word and will make application in the hearts and souls of the hearers. I have seen it over and over again. I have seen individuals apply truth from God’s Word in their lives that I never mentioned in the sermon. I have seen a person get saved in a Sunday School class where I had not yet mentioned anything about Salvation. It is because I preached and taught God’s Word not my words.

It is humanly very hard to resist making our own application and constantly telling people what to do. But when you get out of the way and see the Holy Spirit work you will never go back. This is how I believe in the Holy Spirit and practice watching Him work. He is able, He is capable and He does a much better job than we could ever do. This can only be accomplished through true expository preaching. Anything else is just man talking.

 

 

Rev. David Johnson

Former Pastor

First Baptist Church of Austin, MN

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