Old-Time Preaching
by Gene Easley
When I
call for old-time preaching, many people will not know what I am talking
about, and that is understandable. If
you have never seen a preacher who is anointed by God, who preaches with
conviction, and who uses the Holy Scriptures for his sermon material, you
have never known old-time preaching. I
only use the term “old-time” because today it is looked upon as
something that is obsolete. Today’s
message is delivered with a suave presentation, and a master’s degree in
theology, and often with a deadness that is difficult to bear.
I want to
hear again some old-time preaching! I
want to see the Word of God brought to life.
I want to feel His holy presence as the Word is preached.
I want to hear a message that comes from Scripture and not from
man’s opinions. I don’t
want to be in a church service wishing the preacher would bring the sermon
to a quick conclusion because it is so boring.
Give me some old-time preaching that will make me forget about the
time! And I won’t think
about looking at my watch.
As I
said, some people will not know what I am talking about when I say
“old-time preaching.” But
I have witnessed it; I have been blessed by it, and my soul cannot be
satisfied with something less.
The
ministry of the Word of God is far more than an effort to educate
Christians or to increase our knowledge so that we can defend our beliefs.
The ministry of the Word has a greater purpose.
It is to penetrate our hearts not only with doctrine but also with
the power and presence of God.
Preaching
has a higher purpose than to give us more information about God.
If we leave church with nothing more than feeling a little smarter,
we haven’t been listening to old-time preaching.
Preaching is meant to encourage us, to inspire us, to convict us,
and to draw us closer to God. Good
preaching will draw us to an altar of prayer and to the foot of the Cross
of Calvary.
Let me
say it again--and I say it to every preacher who may read these words--we
need some old-time preaching. Old-time
preaching begins with the preacher who lives in the Scriptures and spends
hours on his or her knees in prayer. The
preacher must be saturated with the presence of God until the Word of God
burns in his heart. The people
will never “feel” anything that the preacher isn’t feeling.
It is fruitless for the minister to attempt to lead his
congregation to an experience he himself has not had.
One of
the greatest preachers I have ever heard was a woman preacher.
I realize there are many who have been taught that women should not
preach. But if you had heard
Gladys Pearson preach you would not be able to deny that God had called
her to preach. Sister Pearson
spent hours on her face before God and saturated herself with His Word
before she stood behind the pulpit. And
God bore witness with her message.
An
evangelist preached a two-week revival at a church I once attended (this
was the church where I became acquainted with Sister Pearson’s ministry).
The evangelist’s services were difficult. Not
too much seemed to happen. On
the concluding night of that revival, we were standing around the altars
of prayer (something that is rare today) talking and greeting one another,
and the evangelist was lamenting the fact that seemingly the revival had
not been a success. Our pastor
scheduled revivals frequently, and there was another one scheduled in two
weeks with Sister Gladys Pearson. As
we stood conversing around the altar, the evangelist said, “Well, I
haven't been able to do much in this meeting, but Sister Pearson is coming
in two weeks. Maybe she can do
something when she gets here.”
Two weeks
later, Sister Pearson came, and from the moment she first stood behind the
pulpit on that first service, we had revival!
The Spirit of God filled the sanctuary, and hearts were lifted to
another realm. It was that
kind of preaching and ministry that placed the call of God deep within my
heart and gave me a desire to go into all the world and preach the Gospel
to every creature!
I have
heard evangelists say that they did not bring a revival in their suitcase.
I understood what they meant. They
were saying that the people of the local congregation needed to get in and
pray and believe God for special things to happen and not just depend on
the evangelist to bring revival. But
the most successful revivals that I have witnessed have been when the
evangelist did bring something with him or with her--as in the case of
Sister Pearson. She brought
with her a dedication to prayer and a Spirit-filled life.
She brought a message from God that ministered to our hearts.
Revival
meetings no longer have a special part in most churches.
The evangelist is no longer considered a necessary part of the
local church ministry. Good
preaching has taken a back seat to all of our programs and activities.
We are spiritually anemic and do not realize how much of God’s
presence and glory we have allowed to slip away from our worship services.
Young ministers are no longer challenged to be good, anointed
preachers. Instead, they are
being taught to be good administrators, good counselors, and good
organizers--and the church is suffering greatly from it.
My prayer is that God will grant us again some old-time preachers that will stir our souls and set the church on fire again! For those who are satisfied with something less, that is their choice. But lifeless preaching will reap a disappointing harvest, if any at all. The preaching such as that to which I have referred will bring revival and a harvest of souls. It will bring deliverance and victory to the believer. It will bring healing to the body and joy to the heart. And it will spread outside the four walls of the church to a hurting world. Give us some old-time preaching!
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