Things I Love | Preaching

Matt Chandler of The Village Church, bringing the word.

It is interesting for me to reflect on this. My personality is very introverted and very timid. I can recall--and often tell others about this too--that during my first speech in my freshmen English class, I froze up. I made it through the first line on my note card with my voice shaking. Then I stared blankly at the class... I was sweating, trembling, and unable to make my mind recall what I planned to say. I looked at the teacher and shrugged my shoulders. Then I sat down. I got an "F" on the speech.

I am terrified of public speaking. It has always been my enemy. Which is ironic because God has called me to speak His Word... I often have to remind myself of Moses' and God's dialogue where Moses says to God, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:10-12). I feel like Moses arguing with God of my incapability's. But God continues to remind me that He is able to speak through me.

That makes me realize that preaching for me is a spiritual gift. I work hard to get better at preaching, but at the end of the day it is a supernatural experience that I can stand before a group of people and not pass out. And even more amazing, it is supernatural that people hear the voice of God when I preach. Incredible.

So that is the personal and selfish side of it... The other thing that I have come to see about preaching is that it is critical to the purposes of God. For some strange reason God has chosen the instrument of preaching to accomplish His mission. A frail man standing before a group of people and, in a sense, saying "thus saith the Lord" is the way God designed gospel-proclamation. Weird.

But it is powerful and effective. Preaching is life changing. Preaching transforms culture and brings dead men to life. Preaching is miraculous.

So I have given my life to preaching.

I want to rightly handle the word of truth. I want to be found a workman that need not be ashamed. I want to speak as one speaking the very words of God. There is a fire in my bones. His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (2 Tim 2:15, 1 Peter 4:11, Jeremiah 20:9)