Years ago, the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, entered a church where he was invited to speak in order to check out the acoustics. He decided to quote Scripture from the platform and said in a loud voice, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” Unknown to him a workman in the church heard this as the voice of God to him. He responded by looking to Jesus and trusting him as his Savior. Many years later the man shared with Spurgeon that it was his brief word that day that led him to trust in Jesus. Spurgeon is well known for his powerful sermons that called people to repentance and helped them see the unmerited grace that comes through Jesus Christ alone. While Spurgeon’s sermons will forever go down in history, it is curious to consider the impact of the few short words from the Lord that changed this workman’s life.
Many refer to Jonah’s words in Jonah 3:4 as the shortest sermon in the Bible. It says, “Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ The Ninevites believed God.” Eight simple words changed an entire city: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
So what exactly is the purpose of a sermon? From where does its power and impact come? And what is expected of the preacher who is preaching the sermon? In churches across the U.S. today, one might define a sermon as a 30 minute message where a qualified, seminary trained preacher exposits Scripture in three catchy phrases that all start with the same letter. The preacher would likely provide relevant examples and anecdotes to prove these points, then conclude with how the lesson could be applied to our lives today. This is no doubt easier said than done! Preachers receive a ton of pressure and criticism! Far too often though, how a message is presented; whether or not it is expressed with eloquence, energy, and empowerment (Sorry – I couldn’t resist giving you 3 E’s! 🙂 is up for critique rather than considering what the Holy Spirit might be saying to each individual who is listening.
Jonah disobeyed God. He was told to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent, then he ran the opposite direction. I’m not sure at what point while he was sloshing around in the belly of a fish for three days that he decided to obey God, but once he did, he likely spent more time considering whether or not he would be killed for saying what God told him to say as opposed to how polished it would come across. Jonah was given a message from God, a prophetic, life changing 8 word sermon. His task was to go and speak, regardless of how it was received. The rest was up to God.
We know that teaching or preaching is a gift given by the Holy Spirit. Some receive this gift but Scripture tells us that ALL are commanded to proclaim God’s truth. 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” If we say that we are followers of Jesus, and we are listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit, then we are commanded to share what he reveals. The truly exciting part of this is that the results are not up to us! We may have the opportunity to offer many words or just a few – but the truth remains the same; when God says to speak – speak! I can only imagine the fear that Jonah must have felt as he entered the savage town of Nineveh. Yet he must have done so with an incredible peace knowing that he was being obedient to God and that it was God who would change the hearts of the Ninevites, not him.
Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director