God leads each of His servants in particular ways to do His work according to His will. The servant must, therefore, be willing and come to accept the Master’s instruction, even when accompanied with any particularities or peculiarities suited to the servant and for the task at hand. And so it is that as preachers we must come to discern how it is that the Holy Spirit prepares us to preach and leads us to prepare to preach. This preparation will be unique to each servant. For example, practically for some it may mean preparing a sermon a little each day, while for others it may mean preparing it all in one day. To some the Holy Spirit will speak weeks in advance what to preach, but to others only days or even hours before. Regardless of how it all comes together, cooperation is the key to preparation.
We will learn by experience that if we do not cooperate with the Holy Spirit then we not only frustrate ourselves, but also Him. In our frustration we will often blame ourselves for feeling unprepared and resort to studying longer and harder, striving in our own wisdom and strength after revelation and power. On the other hand, if we learn to cooperate with Him we can come to experience great freedom in knowing how He prepares us and leads us to prepare. There is great peace and rest in completely depending upon the Spirit of God in preaching the Word of God.
Recent Comments