Daily devotion – Preaching the Word of God!
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Jon 3:2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Why do we place such an enormous emphasis on preaching the Word of God here at Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour?
Why is even our youth and children’s ministries geared around preaching to these young ones?
Preaching is a characteristic of Christianity! No other religion has made the regular and frequent assembling of groups of people, to hear religious instruction and exhortation, an integral part of divine worship.
The preaching of God’s Word is the means by which God has chosen to bring the wonder of who He is and the power of His might to a lost a fallen world.
The weakening of preaching at the beginning of the 20th century has brought along with it a weakening of the Church of Jesus Christ. Even our Lord preached each time He gathered with the lost, lonely and broken.
When Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah that fateful day at the commencement of His public ministry, He stated that God the Father had anointed Him to preach….
When Jonah was sent to halt a massive impending judgment falling upon the people of Nineveh, God told Jonah to go there and preach!
When Jesus sent His disciples out that first time, He told them to go and preach…
Paul’s last words prior to his execution in Rome to a young pastor by the name of Timothy were, preach the word….!
This is why with our children’s ministry we have under Pastor Nathanael, a mirroring of God’s command to preach the message of God, to these young hearts and listening ears.
It is why we keep away from many programs and other such adaptions to ensure we stay the course, we keep in the command of God and preach the Word of God as we do.
When people have contacted me asking questions about Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour, I do not speak of programs and other such means. There are many churches that will have a program for every whim and way. I do say however, that if you do not like the serious and methodical study of God’s Word, the expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God, then Calvary is not the Church you are seeking – where Scripture speaks God speaks!
I never tire of saying, “Let us open our Bibles to…” and then hearing the pages turn as the people of God prepare to hear from God Himself through the expository teaching of His Word.
Hebrews 1: 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;