(Isa 52:7 KJV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Preachers! What are they? What is the essence of a preacher in its most correct form?
The answer is they are heralds and teachers of the gospel to a dry and thirsty world so
God’s elect may hear and be brought into the Kingdom. A good preacher is hard to find
today. Where then do we look? To the seminaries, is that where they are created? As I have
said a number of times that if a person who goes to seminary to be a preacher is not a
preacher going in, he will not be a preacher coming out. Training does not create
something that was not there in the beginning. Training sharpens what is already existent
in a person. Where do preachers come from then?
(Eph 4:11-12 KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Notice that God gave the shepherds and teachers. They were not created by any school or
seminary. Seminaries and Bible Colleges only create chaos in the body of believers. It is
God the Holy Spirit who distributes the spiritual gifts and every believer has one, no
matter what they think. The only reason that many Christians do not know their spiritual
gift is because it is easier to turn on the TV than to search for their gift.
But wait, are only seminary trained pastors called to preach the gospel or bring the
gospel? The answer is no as that responsibility is delegated to every believer. Let us
look at some unlikely places where God took His prophets and teachers from and see if we
can make a modern day parallel.
Amos
(Amos 1:1 KJV) The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw
concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son
of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Here is Amos who was a herdsman. No doubt he probably thought he was an unlikely
candidate to bring God’s word but this little book contains some of the most
stringent words about the coming judgment of God.
Nehemiah
(Neh 1:11 KJV) O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of
thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper,
I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was
the king's cupbearer.
Here was a man who had a heart for his people but he was placed in a servants position
to the King of Babylon. Yet, his prayers went up to heaven and God heard him and granted
his petition to go back to Jerusalem and build. The interesting part of this scenario is that Nehemiah was a part of the prayer that he
prayed. Here is the principle we need to apply to our own prayers. If you pray for
something, be prepared to part of the answer. If you have a burden on your heart for
something, don’t expect God to send someone else, He may send you. He may also send
you help but pray with the mindset of preparation. I remember some years ago in the TV
move "IKE" who was played by Robert Duvall, he was in a scene with Roosevelt and
Roosevelt said to Eisenhower, you better pack because you are going to London to head up
the Allied forces. I will always remember Eisenhower’s response, "Sir, I am in
the Army, I never unpack." That needs to be our mindset that we are never seeking
refuge in a comfort zone so we may progress in our Christian walk.
Gideon
(Judg 6:15 KJV) And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold,
my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
Here is Gideon who was the least in his family plus his family was poor. I don’t
think he had the time or resources to go to military school and learn how to be a general
to lead Israel from out from under the rule of the Midianites. God had guided and led
Gideon and all he needed was God to go before him as all Christians do. (Deu 31:8 KJV)
And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail
thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
So we see Amos the herdsman, Nehemiah the Cupbearer, and Gideon the Wheat Thresher all
used of the Lord in a mighty way during their contemporary time. Let us bring the
principle home. Is God still calling people out of the factories, out of the
office, out of the work place to do His work? The answer is yes. The day of the
professional Christian is over as God begins to start calling those who are less known
because those who are well known have brought "damnable heresies" into the
church. (1 Cor 1:26 KJV) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
The day of the little known Christian is at hand. Has God laid upon your heart to start
a Bible study, a church, a Bible teaching program, a web site to teach truth? Is there a
need in your area for the true study of God’s Word because the church you attend is
corrupted? Have you been asked to leave your church or have you left voluntarily because
you choose to obey God and not become corrupted by amalgamated theology?
If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you have the greatest
opportunity to start a true study or a true church. Do not worry about qualifications such
as I can’t speak or teach. Get it started and the Lord will supply the appropriate
people with the appropriate spiritual gifts to fill in the breaches. Do not worry about
what those who are left behind in the false churches may say. You follow Christ and leave
the results to Him. Now I would like to look at three common objections and/or concerns
Christians may have in starting a new venture.
1) I am not ordained
Neither was Paul! Ordination is a Roman Catholic tradition accepted by the Protestant
Church as making one man the Grand Czar of the local assembly. It is a sad commentary on
the local church that the church’s entire ministry centers around the ministry of the
Pastor. All Christians have spiritual gifts which are normally quenched and sequestered by
the typical church. It is a horrible insult to the Holy Spirit who gives the spiritual
gifts to have a church of 300 and only one man exercising his spiritual gift. Spurgeon was
asked if he would like to be ordained and he refused, he told his inquirer that he does
not want the hands of 6 empty men laid upon his empty head. Not being ordained is not a
hindrance to doing God’s work, in fact, many who are ordained are hindrances to the
work.
2) Don’t I need to go to school?
NO! If you have a King James Bible you have sixty-six 4 credit courses right in your
hand. The idea of starting an assembly is to disseminate Biblical truth, not educational
hooey. God blesses the assembly that treats His word with the proper hermeneutic.
3) Where will I get the money to start?
(Psa 24:1 KJV) The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein. Then read (Jer 32:27 KJV) Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all
flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? If God has laid something upon your heart,
He will supply the basic necessities to get you started.
It is time to take Biblical interpretation from the pulpit and put it back in the Bible.
If God closes one door, that means another door of opportunity will open, be patient and
alert. This week’s article was longer but I wanted to broach this issue since
many are seeking God’s will for a true church or Bible study.
(10/22/00)