Preaching and Preachers

CHAPTER SIXTEEN'Demonstration ofthe Spiritand ofthe Power'I HAVE KEPT and reserved to this last lecture what is after all thegreatest essential in connection with preaching, and that is the unctionand the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It may seem odd to some that Ikeep the most important thing of all to the end instead of starting withit. My reason for doing so is that I believe that ifwe do, or attempt todo, all I have been saying first, then the unction will come upon it. Ihave already pointed out that some men fall into the error of relyingupon the unction only, and neglect to do all they can by way of preparation.The right way to look upon the unction of the Spirit is to thinkof it as that which comes upon the preparation. There is an OldTestament incident which provides a ready illustration to show thisrelationship. It is the story of Elijah facing the false prophets of Israelon Mount Carmel. We are told that Elijah built an altar, then cut woodand put it on the altar, and that then he killed a bullock and cut it inpieces and put the pieces on the wood. Then, having done all that, heprayed for the fire to descend; and the fire fell. That is the order.There are many other examples of the same thing. One of the mostnotable is in connection with the account of the erection of theTabernacle in the wilderness in Exodus 40. We are told how Mosesfirst did in detail everything that God had told him to do, and that itwas only after he had done it all that the glory of the Lord came downupon the Tabernacle. That is my reason for reserving what is beyond3°4