FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS

volume 12, number 9, February 28, 2013

See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. Jeremiah 1:10.

Why must we have prophetic preaching in our day? To answer this simply-because business as usual is not working. We have never had more information, more Bible colleges, more theological seminaries, more conferences, more books, more seminars, more information readily available on the internet. Though these things are all true, rarely has the western church been as impotent as she is now. The casual, "fire side" chat, hand in the pocket, conversational approach will not work. Think about it-as you read the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, et al, do you see anything casual or conversational in their preaching? They know they are called to their ministries. Indeed, with Jeremiah, they all have "fire in their bones," and they cannot help but proclaim the word with fervency, urgency, and zeal. They know their message is life or death. They pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow (call it devastation), and they build up and plant (call it restoration). They realize people die once, and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). With the writer to the Hebrews, they all can say, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation," (Hebrews 2:3). With the Apostle Paul they can say, "The love of Christ constrains me," (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Like a man who comes upon a burning house at midnight, who bangs on the door, seeking to arouse the house dwellers, calling them to flee death and seek refuge; so the gospel preacher warns people to flee from the wrath of God which is coming and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is this prophetic message so necessary? Because we all are covenant breakers. As Israel was soon to enter the Promised Land, God spoke through Moses, saying "If you obey the Lord your God, being diligent to keep all His commandments which I command you today, then the Lord your God will lift you up above all the nations of the earth. If you obey the Lord then all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body. Blessed shall be the produce of your field. Blessed shall be the increase of your beasts, and the offspring of your herd and the young of your flock," (Deuteronomy 28:1-4). Jesus said something similar, "He who hears My words and acts upon them is like the man who builds his house on a rock. The rains fell, the floods came, the wind blew and beat against the house, and the house stood, because it was founded upon a rock," (Matthew 7:24-25). Jesus also said "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and manifest Myself to him," (John 14:21). But none of us keep His commandments. We all have broken His covenant, times without number. And because we are covenant breakers, the curses of the covenant are upon our heads, "But it shall come about that if you do not obey the commandments and the statutes with which I command you today, then all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the offspring of your body, the produce of your field, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock," (Deuteronomy 28:15-17). Jesus said, "He who hears My words and does not act upon them is like the man who builds his house on sand. The rains fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against the house, and the house fell and great was its fall," (Matthew 7:26-27). Jesus also said, "He who does not love Me does not keep My words," (John 14:24).

While it is gloriously true that Jesus has taken the curses of the Law upon Himself for our sakes (Galatians 3:13), fulfilling the Law, something we could never do; it is still true that as believers we are to obey the covenant. So the prophetic preacher is to bring the "terrors of the Law" upon the unregenerate, seeking by the Spirit to help him see that he is without hope in his approach to God (Galatians 3:24). The prophetic preacher must also proclaim the Law of God to the community and world at large, as a town-crier making known the fact that any violation of God's law (whether by worshipping any god besides the true, Triune God; or by hating another, or by lusting after a woman) makes him guilty before the One who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:7). The prophetic preacher must also bring the "terrors of the law" upon those within the covenant community (see Hebrews 6:4-8, Hebrews 10:19-39, 12:14-17), warning them lest they fall short of the grace God (Hebrews 4:1). The prophetic preacher seeks the anointing of the Spirit to bring convicting, converting, and sanctifying power upon his hearers. He preaches for a verdict. He is not interested merely in imparting new information about God. He is driving his hearers to action, to do whatever the text is saying. He does not "let them off the hook" with humor. He does not coddle them. He does not presume anyone's justification. Just because one has grown up in the church, has been a church member for many years, who faithfully tithes and attends Sunday School is no assurance that he is truly saved. Jesus said to His hearers, "You are the salt of the earth. If the salt has lost its savor, then it is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled under foot," (Matthew 5:13). A prophetic preacher will never then say, "But of course, this is not true of you. You are in Jesus. You need not worry about anything." Demas was a faithful church worker (Colossians 4:14) yet Paul tells us that he had left him for this present world (2 Timothy 4:10). Judas was a called apostle who no doubt cast out demons, healed of disease, and preached Jesus with success (Luke 10:17-20) yet we know what happened to him (Acts 1:18).

So the prophetic preacher brings the terrors of the law without compromise, without distinction, without discrimination. However he does not stop there. He then publishes the glad tidings of great joy. He announces salvation through our blessed redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, 15:1-3).

Recently in Hollywood, CA, at the Roxy Theatre, during the memorial service for his brother, a major deal maker in the entertainment industry, I watched with awe and great joy as my good friend Brian Harrington lifted up Jesus to more than two hundred celebrities in the movie and music world. Brian was winsome, gracious, humble, earnest, gentle as a lamb, and bold as a lion. He pulled no punches. He spoke of sin, death, and judgment; but he also spoke of Jesus who wept at the tomb of his good friend Lazarus, making clear that Jesus died and was raised from the dead for us, and that by repentance and true faith He could and would save them, that He came to save sinners. While speaking to some of the most prominent people in Hollywood, many whose lives have been devastated by hard living and its consequences he said, "Many of us are doubling down on a bad bet. Substances won't do it. So we try more of them. Success won't do it, but we need to reach for more of it. The next relationship won't do it, but come hell or high water, a man will wreck his family for that fleeting illusion. The dragon has overcome us, and defeating it proves so elusive because the dragon is ultimately inside us." But as the Lion tore off Eustace's dragon scales, cutting him to the bone, bringing great pain to him, stripping him of his pride, in the end he became a boy again."[1] Brian lifted up Jesus, the only One who has obeyed the covenant, the One who took our covenantal infidelity upon Himself, experiencing hell so that we might gain forgiveness, reconciliation, and right standing before the Holy One who is a consuming fire.

This is prophetic preaching. This is the need of the day. Will you pray, asking God the Holy Spirit to bring His anointing upon your preacher, that he will preach the terrors of the law and the gospel of free grace? We must have prophetic preaching lest we continue our slide toward Sodom, lest we continue head long into perdition as a nation. And if you are a preacher, ask yourself-am I a prophetic preacher, am I in any way soft-peddling the gospel message, have I truncated it, do I fear man, do I shrink from proclaiming the full gospel of God? If so, then repent and run back to Jesus for His holiness. He will meet you if you seek Him with all your heart.

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