Welcome to the Cultivating Growth podcast where each week we discuss different ways in which we can grow as followers of Christ. This week we're going to be discussing the idea of growing as a preacher. Preaching isn't just for those who stand up in the pulpit every Sunday, but there's something in this that can be applied to each one of our lives as Christians.

We'll discuss  the ways in which we can grow in this area. It was a joy to discuss. this with Jeremy, and I'm excited to share the conversation with you today. So with that, let's get to it. 

Well, John, cultivating our growth as preachers, um, it certainly means something to you and I, both as we are full time preachers, evangelists. But as you made mention in the intro, it really is something that everybody can and should be thinking about. You think about just You know, the basic definition of preaching, right, is just, you know, a simple proclamation.

You are proclaiming something, right? And so for us, we are proclaiming, we are preaching Jesus. And, and that is to be, you know, the focus in every way. And it's something you and I think about a lot. Mm-Hmm. As we, as we preach from the pulpit, we're thinking about those kinds of things. We're thinking about Jesus, we're thinking about, uh, his will, we're thinking about his business.

I mean, we're thinking about his church. I mean, we're thinking about all of those things, you know, pertaining to Jesus. But it, it, it's one of those things that each and every one of us as Christians need to be thinking about, that we need to live a life. Proclaiming, if you will, you know, Jesus, you know, I made mention. 

You know, about the importance of that. When I was just thinking about this earlier,  to me, the Book of Acts encapsulates that idea so well. I mean, certainly we're not gonna take the time to to look through every instance of preaching that takes place in the Book of Acts, but you see so many different kinds of it.

You see preaching, as we would think about, from a pulpit one The one man standing in front of an audience, uh, the book really almost begins that way with the apostles on the day of Pentecost, and we see other examples of a preaching that takes place, uh, in other places with, with Philip, certainly the apostle Paul and Barnabas, as we get a little bit deeper on into the book of Acts, but yet you also see other folks and you see other passages that, you know, after the persecution and the stoning of Stephen, everyone, one.

that went, uh, their way and preaching the gospel. That's how the gospel is able to spread so quickly. Not because Paul was the only one doing the preaching or that Peter was the only one doing the preaching. It was able to multiply because everybody was talking and proclaiming Jesus. And so when we kind of think about it that way, I think it helps to say that, listen, maybe all of us.

can grow in an area such as this. Yeah, there's a very close relationship between the idea of preaching and just being evangelistic. And all of us, as you've pointed out, are called to be evangelistic. And we are to share the good news of Jesus with those that were around. Now, you and I are in a unique situation where we are.

Being supported by the church here at Trader's Point so that we can dedicate our full time and attention to this work. But that doesn't mean that everyone doesn't have the responsibility, it just means that you and I are given the opportunity to fully commit ourselves to this work. And so, we stand up on Sunday morning and we present lessons, we teach Bible classes and other other opportunities that we have to teach and to study with people.

Uh, but, but all of us as Christians should be involved in this work. There was a passage that kind of stood out to me in second Timothy chapter two, you know, Paul's writing to Timothy, a preacher in his own right. And he's helping this relatively young man. He grows in this work. And I really like what he says at the beginning of chapter two, uh, verse number two, as Paul writes, the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

And I think that that's a verse that as, as a preacher is really important to me because one of my responsibilities.  Is to teach people the words of the Bible and the teachings and instructions specifically found in the New Testament as followers of Christ in a way that they can then take those and teach them to other people.

I think one of the greatest compliments that could ever be paid to a preacher is when someone else uses sermons or Bible classes or something that, that we have, have put together. In their teaching of other people now, I may not ever know about that and that's even better. I mean, it's such a great high compliment for anyone to be able to use something that I've studied because that's really following in the, in the lines of what Paul is doing here in second Timothy two, Timothy, you need to be teaching in such a way that others can then take what they hear and teach it to people themselves.

And so I think that's a really, a really good passage for, for both preachers in the way that you and I are, or just any Christian who is seeking to be evangelistic. You teach in such a way that the person hearing you can then take it and teach someone else. I mean, we see biblical examples of that. I mean, even with, you know, the Apostle Paul and the preaching that he, that he does to people like here, Timothy, who now is himself, Preaching, but we see it on, you know, different scales even than that.

I've made mention of the book of acts and there's so much that can be pulled from that. But you take a Paul's good friends, Aquila and Priscilla, when they come in contact with Apollos and, uh, they teach him more accurately the way they preach to him about, about Jesus and what he's all about. And then in that same exact text, as soon as that's done, what do we see?

We see Apollos, he's back out and he's, he's taking that message and he's proclaiming it. And so we see that. idea there in second Timothy chapter two, you know, kind of playing out. And, um, and it is still something today that can, can continue to, to go. It can continue to push because  that's how the church grows.

I mean, that's how the church multiplies maybe is even a better word, you know, to use is that there's not just one, there may be 10 or 20 or 50 or however many that you can get talking about Jesus. And it's important to remember. What it is we're supposed to be sharing. And you just said it right there.

We're supposed to be teaching Jesus. We're supposed to be teaching the word. And that, that's exactly what Paul encouraged Timothy to do. Still in second Timothy, if you flip over to chapter four in verse two, Paul says, preach the word, he's not calling on Timothy, a Timothy, preach your opinion. Uh, preach whatever culture says, uh, should be shared, or preach kind of how you're feeling that day.

You preach the word, and that's certainly the responsibility that you and I bear when we stand up on Sundays and preach or teach a Bible class. It's the responsibility that each one of us bears when we sit down with someone and we talk to them about God and about their life and about where their relationship with the Lord is.

We're not sharing our opinions on things. We're sharing the word because that's where the power to change lives comes from. And so it's important as preachers, however, you're going to define that, that our preaching comes from the word and nothing else. And he goes on to even say in doing so. That's going to give you the opportunity to convince, to rebuke, to exhort.

You're going to be patient with people. That's what, when you stay focused on the word, that's the effect that you're preaching is going to have. When you're preaching from places of opinion, or certainly if you're preaching from pop culture, you're preaching the news. Those types of things, you're going to miss out on the power that the Word of God has to convince people, and to rebuke people, and to exhort people, and to lead them to Christ.

Because that's the only way it's going to happen is if we stay true to the Word in our preaching. And what I've always thought was interesting, especially about that passage there in 2 Timothy chapter 4, is really the context that surrounds it. You know, it's, you know, even though we were talking last week about something completely different than what we're talking about this week.

We actually closed our episode last week with 2 Timothy 3, the literal verses preceding this, this passage. And I think it's interesting that you have Paul reminding Timothy and all of us that the word that we are to be preaching, the significance and weight of it is It is God breathed. It is, it is the very words of God, and now we take these very words of God, and that's what we are proclaiming.

That's what we are, we're pushing forth. And so in that exact same context, I mean, literally, the next verses is you have this, uh, this admonition to preach the word. Uh, the word, you know, exhorts and rebukes and does all of those things, convicts.  But he says also in that verse, verse two of second Timothy four, you got to be, you got to be ready in season and out of season.

There's not a time off from preaching the word. There's not some of the word, God's words, and some of my words, or a little bit of my words sprinkled in with God's words. No, it is the focus. The focus and the center of everything that is preached is God's words, his things, and his business. And the words of caution that are given there is that you're going to come across people who just want, and to use the language here, they just want their ears tickled, right?

They just want to hear what they want to hear. And that doesn't always line up with the word. And so Timothy, you're going to be faced with then the decision of what you're going to do. Are you going to yield to, uh, preach what they want to hear, or are you going to continue to stay true to God's word and preach the truth regardless of, of how it lands?

And that is a responsibility that each of us bear today. And we can look around and we can see what culture and society wants to hear. And we have people around us who are ever ready. To say what society wants to hear and they quickly make names for themselves and they become very popular and very well liked,  but that's not what God is calling us to do as preachers.

He wants us to stay true to the word and like you said, that's going to convict people, which means sometimes it can be hard to hear. But, but when we hear it with an open heart and it's presented in the way that God wants it presented, well, then great beauty and joy and comfort and love can all be found in it as well. 

But, but if we seek to, to, to give people what they want to hear and we do so outside of what God has given to us, that's when we can begin teaching falsely. And there's a lot of. Uh, a lot of things said about false teachers in the New Testament and how dangerous they can be, and that's why as preachers, as teachers of God's Word, all of our thoughts, all of our content, everything that we say has to be grounded and rooted in Scripture.

And that's why, yeah, I love that warning that's given to us right after, you know, that passage there in 2 Timothy 4, there in verses 3 and 4. You know, three and four. But and that really helps, you know, even when you get into verse five of that same passage when, you know, he is now telling Timothy, Listen, you got to be careful.

You got to be watchful. You got to be. You got to be mindful of these things. You've got to endure the difficulties because those things will come if you're preaching the word. Difficulties are going to come behind that, and then he kind of closes that paragraph with kind of the emphatic, you know, Listen, do the work of an evangelist.

Well, what's the work of an evangelist? Preach the word. That's what the work of an evangelist is. Fulfill the ministry. Well, what is that? It is preaching the word. You've made mention already, you know, there are temptations to preach. Your words or your opinions and we've got to we've got to be wary of that.

We got to be watchful about that There is temptations to preach  cultures words or the words of the times You know, there are the words of other religious organizations or whatever the case may be. There are temptations to preach something other than or something added to God's word, but we've got to be careful not to do that.

And I do think it's interesting when he says, listen, when you do that, there's going to be hardships and you're going to have to endure those things because your business is to preach God's business. That is the simplicity of, uh, of what it is to be a preacher, uh, when you study through the New Testament.

And I would say we, you know, we've talked. Uh, a lot already about how many of these things apply to everyone, not just to those who are full time preachers, but perhaps just a word to those of us who are or who are considering that I just stepped into that role a couple of years ago now I'd been preaching for many years prior to that, but in a full time capacity, I stepped into that role just a couple of years ago.

And so I'm not necessarily young, but I am somewhat of a young preacher, and one of the things that has proved really beneficial for me is being able to learn from those who have been doing it for much longer than I have. You've been preaching for 20 years, give or take.  My dad, I grew up with a dad who preached full time, and I have a lot of respect for a lot of other men who have preached for a long time, and I can look at them and see how they've handled certain situations.

And they haven't all, they haven't handled them all perfectly. And as every generation does, we hope to improve upon the past generation in some way. But let's also not lose sight of the wisdom that can be found in the generation before us and those who have been doing this longer than we have, whether it's just their knowledge of the Bible, as they have been diligent Bible students for so long,  or the way they conduct themselves as they teach or preach.

We need to be looking to those I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. But I think it's important to look at men who have done that for so long and learn from them, as Paul was trying to do for Timothy. Paul, a more experienced preacher of God's word, evangelist, was trying to help the younger Timothy find his way and learn how to do this the way that God wanted him to do.

And so the older generation has a responsibility to do the same. responsibility to the younger generation to help lead them and guide them. And the younger generation has a responsibility to learn, uh, from those who have gone on before them and what they have been able to do. And all of us, and now me speaking more broadly, we all have a responsibility to do that.

The older generation has seen more, experienced more. Let's learn what we can from them. Again, that doesn't mean they always did everything perfectly. But let's learn what we can from them so that we can be better teachers and preachers and evangelists moving forward. I think oftentimes we, we, we do our best to complicate, uh, something that isn't super complicated in a lot of ways.

And I think there's an example of that, you know, right here when we think about in the importance of proclaiming Jesus and God's word. Sometimes we complicate that in our own minds, and we start to think, Well, I'm, I'm not, I can't do that. I'm not smart enough for that. Or, you know, I don't know enough for that, or I'm not equipped enough for that.

And we, we talk ourselves right out of doing something that, in essence, God has called all of us to do. And, you know, I think in a lot of ways what helps me, You study, certainly with Paul and his letter to the Brethren at Corinth, especially his first letter in 1 Corinthians, when he's writing to a group of people, and they probably were expecting him to be talking about a whole bunch of different things, right?

They had so many different things going on. They were complicating everything, and they had so many issues, and they were waiting for Paul to talk about all those various things, and now he's coming and he's writing to them.  He's trying to get them to understand, listen, my focus as a preacher is to talk about Jesus.

That's what my focus is. I know you've got a lot of other things going on, but I'm not going to complicate it any more than that. And so let's close with those words in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 and 2, the very beginning of that chapter. He says, Brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, but declaring to you the testimony of God.

For I determined. Not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

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Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk to you again next week.