For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV
The question every preacher must ask regarding each message that he
preaches is, where is Jesus in my presentation of the gospel? If he
doesn't see Him in the context and content of his message, he should
know that what he has is not the message given by the Holy Spirit, it's
his own message, because whenever the Holy Spirit gives a message, both
its context and content will point to Jesus, for His main work on the
earth is to glorify Jesus by showing Him to the world as Lord. By this
shall a preacher judge his work of preaching: that Jesus occupies the
central place in his message.
This way, Jesus becomes not just a part of the message preached, but
the message preached. It is this message that the Holy Spirit confirms.
So is Jesus your message? If He is not, then you must look for another
means by which your message will be confirmed, not the Holy Spirit.
Sadly, many people are content with having what they term the
good-message, rather than the Gospel message, which is Jesus Christ.
When this happens, no significant changes are found in the lives of
those who embrace such messages even though they profess Christ. This
failure is a consequence of the lifeless message that they have heard
and believed. Any message that is not Christ, is destitute, and is
comparable to a yokeless egg. As such an egg cannot bring forth life, so
will a Christ-less message fail to produce life in those who imbibe in.
Toni
