George Whitefield (1714-1770), was probably the greatest preacher the world has ever heard since the New Testament era. He preached at least 18,000 sermons, speaking almost every day for 30 years, he never used notes, was sometimes heard from 2 miles distant and spoke to congregations of thousands. One thing is certain, he was never short of something to say!
I've not written a blog for a number of weeks, mainly because I've not been sure I've got anything to say. Five months into lockdown and various restrictions while we've been constantly confronted with numbers, statistics and regulations together with rows about trangenderism and huge concerns about racism. We've had regular criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic, hopes raised and dashed about vaccines and speculations about when this virus will be killed off, though also warnings by some that it will never be killed off. Never have I felt so strongly - nobody really knows! So, what have I got to say?
Over the years I've often been asked how I know what to preach on a Sunday? Of course if you are preaching within a series of sermons, say, Ephesians or prayer, then it's relatively easy. You have your subject to get on with. But probably, like all preachers, I have in the past sat down with a blank sheet of paper (or blank screen) in front of me, as I did this morning before writing this and wondered, what have I got to say? If you're a preacher who has to speak on Sunday morning and it's late in the week there can be a rising sense of panic about this which usually has the result of paralysing your thought processes even more. So here's a word of encouragement for younger preachers. There comes a time, and I'm not really sure when it happened to me, that after preaching for many years you find you have accumulated such a store of knowledge through constant reading of the Bible, commentaries and sermon preparation that you find you can preach on anything. I now find that I can open the Bible anywhere and the ideas flood in and I can preach on it. This certainly wasn't the case in my earlier years, but there is value in long term experience. I imagine that Whitefield always had this experience. He was so full of Bible and gospel which added to a natural oratorical brilliance meant he could speak anytime, anywhere and to such amazing effect.
I'm fed up speaking to a video camera within a totally sterile atmosphere and I sense from a number of conversations I've had and observation of some statistics that many Believers are fed up listening to online preaching. For last Sunday I videoed a message on the raising of Lazarus. I'm always interested in that story by Martha's conversation with Jesus when she says that she knows her brother will rise on the last day. Martha knew her doctrine; she had learned truth from the Old Testament Scriptures. So in the midst of her grief at the loss of her brother she was comforted by the doctrine of the resurrection. In this frustrating time of online services we still need the doctrine. We need the constant reminder of biblical truth to help us persevere with hope and holiness.
When it comes to the current pandemic who of us can really be sure we've got something to say? But Christian truth is timeless and always relevant. The message Whitefield preached with such amazing success in terms of conversions and church growth is still being preached online (for now) Sunday by Sunday and we still need it for the good of our souls. When it comes to proclaiming Christian truth there is always something to say and always something to listen to.