From time to time I have written or spoken about how we listen or ought to listen to the preaching of God's Word. A trend which has already been present amongst churches and Christians for some time was highlighted to me recently and motivated these remarks.
The trend which concerns me is this - the belief that only preaching which receives a positive personal response, and agrees with the personal views of the individual hearer is that which is approved and endorsed. Preaching however, which causes people to question themselves, perhaps challenges certain previously held beliefs, is rejected.
Perhaps this is not so much a trend but a dangerous attitude which needs to be exposed and tested, and where it is found to stand in the way of genuine Biblical growth in the Lord, it needs to be discarded.
The apostle Paul, when instructing young Timothy in his task warned him that there would be times when the preaching of the Word of God would bring him hardship, but nevertheless he urged him to "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction". So, whether in favourable conditions or unfavourable conditions, Timothy was to preach the Word, because, "the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (cf 2 Tim 4: 2-5)
Our duty always, as hearers of the Word of God, is to ensure that what is preached is the Word of God, however that makes us feel. John encourages us to be careful about believing every spirit, because there are many false prophets who have the sound and appearance of goodness about them. We are, he says, to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God " (1John 4: 1-4). We are to determine if a spirit is from God, and John tells us, if there is an acknowledgement that Jesus is from God, then it is a Godly spirit.
However, our Lord also warned us that "not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7: 21-23), so we need to look further and deeper to ensure what we hear is truly from God.
If a preacher has the approval of the church; he has been examined and found to have the essential gifts and spiritual formation to serve as a preacher of the Word of God, then we are a step further along the way. Furthermore, if the preacher has been installed into that calling by a body of more than one elder, and installed by them with the congregation in accordance with the requirements of Scripture (1Tim 3; Titus 1) and this has been done in reliance upon God's leading through prayer, we are another step further in determining the spirit of the man. We must consider the instructions of Scripture concerning the integrity of the man as noted in 1Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and when we have come that far, we must also listen and practice the instruction of Hebrews 13: 17, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account."
If such a man brings us the Word of God, and that Word troubles us, perhaps even causes us to question long held and deeply held convictions, and shocks us, what will we do? Surely our duty before God is to listen and examine the Word that is brought to us. This man may say, to use a phrase from the apostle Paul, "I think that I too have the Spirit of God" (1Cor 7: 40). We may need to wrestle with our understanding. The matter may not be immediately clear, but with perseverance and prayerfully before God, in respectful humility, we must test the Word to ensure in the first place that it is the Word of the Lord. Our first thought must not be to protect our pride and personal views, but lay ourselves before the Lord and under the guiding hand of His Spirit seek to grow.
So what am I getting at here? Preaching ought always to seek to be uplifting and seek to bring us into the presence of God, but sometimes in doing that, instead of encouraging us with positive affirmations, it condemns us. The worst thing we can do is hide from the Word of the Lord and hug our personal views more closely to ourselves.
Let us all be careful that we always and constantly "test the spirits", and if the spirit is not truly in accord with the Scriptures - reject it, but be sure of what you do. We may need to take some firm steps toward the Lord instead.