Preaching and Preachers

The SenntJ1J and thePreachingcerning these matters is something that is contrary to thevery characterand nature of the Gospel itself.I reject allthese modem substitutes for preaching therefore and saythat there is only one way; it is the way that was adopted by theApostle Paul himself in Athens. I have already quoted it: 'Whom yeignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.' This declaration isessential; it must come first. There can be no profitable exchangeuntil this declaration has been made and people have been given acertain amount of information. This 'declaration' is something thatwe, the Church, the preacher alone, can make, and this is the first andthe primary thing that we must do.That leaves just one further argument or objection, namely thatthat may be all right in theory but that people will not come to listen.So what do you do then? It is all very well to put up this wonderfulcase, it is said, butpeople willnotlisten to this sort of thing these days,they are not interested, and they insist upon having their say and puttingforward their views and so on. I shall be dealing with this pointlater when I come to consider 'the congregation that listens to thepreacher'; but let me say just this at this point. The answer is thatthey will come, and that they do come when it is true preaching. I havealready adduced evidence from history that people have always doneso in the past; and I claim that it is still the same today. Thereason for that we have seen already-that God is still the same, andman is still the same. Still more important, not to believe this isindicative, ultimately, of the fact that we have very little placefor the Holy Spirit and His work in our outlook upon this wholematter.This may be slow work; it often is; it is a long-term policy. But mywhole contention is that it works, that it pays, and that it is honoured,and must be, because it is God's own method. This is the thing towhich He calls us, it is the thing into which He thrusts us forth, andtherefore He will honour it. He has always honoured it, and stillhonours it in this modem world, and after you have tried these othermethods and schemes, and found that they will come to nothing, you51