The Preaching of the Word

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;” (Titus 1:1-3, ESV)
Preaching. To many, the word itself evokes memories of long-winded sermons, often addressing things which the listener does not relate to or thinks are unimportant. Some believe that the practice was a later addition to the liturgy of the early church and therefore of no consequence. It is regularly discarded as being archaic, not a proper approach to people. On the other hand, there are those who use the practice to pound into the minds of any who will listen, their particular beliefs, their hobbies, their schisms, whatever it is that they are selling. Politicians are very good at this and often use the “bully pulpit” to abuse the powers given them by the people who brought them to office. Preaching carries a negative connotation in our day.
Have you ever noticed when reading the Bible that little points that seem of no particular significance later jump off the page at you and make you realize that more than a salutation or side note is there before you? Look at the scripture in Titus. Paul, who often begins his letters with similar salutations, says that he is a servant - one who serves a Master. His Master is God. Next he says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ, using the personal name of his Savior and then the title which means Messiah, the Anointed One. He is an apostle, one who was sent out to carry a message. He was an ambassador for his King, King Jesus. But then he says that there was a special purpose to being sent out by the Christ; he was to carry out a specific task for the sake or welfare of the faith of those chosen by God, the elect. Not only for their faith, but also for their knowledge of the truth was he given this task. He then says that this truth is in agreement with godliness.
Have you ever thought about being godly? To be godly is to be as God, to have God qualities. One of the qualities of God is truthfulness. He never lies. His truth promised eternal life to those who believed His Son, Jesus. He gave us the promise of eternal life, to live with Him forever, and He didn’t lie about that. That promise began before the Creation, before time itself began.
One of the things I really love about God is His timing. He does things in His time, not in my time or your time. Mordecai reminded Esther that she may have been raised up for such a time as was before them, to stand in the face of possible eradication of the Jews from the earth, not just in Medo-Persia, but throughout the empire. This would have effectively destroyed God’s promise to bring his son, Messiah, through the line of the tribe of Judah, for the Jews were named after that tribe. It would have brought to an end God’s promise for salvation to come through the Jews. But at exactly the right time, God raised up Esther. A woman was used by God to save the plan that had begun before the Creation. So time with God is always the right time, the time of His choosing.
Then Paul says that the truth of God’s promise was manifested, published abroad, made known,
through Paul’s preaching. Paul says that was the task that he was entrusted with. To have a trust is to have a solemn obligation. My wife administered her parents’ trust for over ten years and is still dealing with some small problems connected with that trust. She had to carefully carry out the desires her mother and father had put into that trust, to care for her mother after her father passed away, to ensure that her brother got a fair share of the inheritance, and in his case, to ensure that his children got a fair share each after his demise. All of that has been faithfully executed. Paul says he had that kind of trust. He was to faithfully bring the knowledge of this truth to those who had faith in Christ and he was to do it through preaching.
The next time you think the preacher is too long-winded or the topic is not of interest to you, look at the verses in Titus again. The preacher is doing his best to carry out his duties, the duties of the trust that has been handed down from generation to generation, since Christ returned to the Father. Worship is not just about the Lord’s Supper. It is not just about what kind of music we enjoy. It is not about whether we sit in pews or on theater seats, or even on the floor. It has nothing to do with making our attire more important than other things. We are there to worship the King and He is the One who wanted His truth to be made plain through preaching. Preaching is a difficult task, it is a task that carries a heavy weight of responsibility with it. Woe to the preacher who takes the job lightly. Woe to the listeners who take preaching lightly.