Sermon Tone Analysis

The Gospel of the Lord

!! The Preaching of the Gospel

!!! Morning Worship 21 September 2008, 9.30am

© Rev D Rudi Schwartz[1]

!!! Bible Readings

Old Testament:                     Isaiah 52:7-12

New Testament:                   Colossians 1:24-29

!!! Hymns~/Songs

1.       Approach:                     “I’ll praise You Lord with all my heart” (Psalm 138)

2.       Forgiveness of sins:     “It passes knowledge”

3.       Thanksgiving:                “Healing God, almighty Father”

4.       Offering:                        “As men of old their firstfruits brought”

5.       Response:                     “Your words to me are life and health”

!!! Main Points

!!!!!! 1.       Introduction

!!!!!! 2.       Ministers of the Gospel:  mouthpieces of Jesus Christ

!!!!!! a.       Korah, Dathan and Abiram

!!!!!! b.       Messengers called and sent by God

!!!!!! c.        Paul and the apostles

!!!!!! d.

The practice in our church today

!!!!!! e.

More than just a speaker giving a talk

!!!!!! 3.       Ministers of the Gospel:   proclaiming f Jesus Christ

!!!!!! a.       Proclamation

!!!!!! b.       Proclamation of Jesus Christ

!!!!!! c.        Proclamation with a view to worship Christ

!!!!!! 4.       Conclusion

!!!  

!!! 1.  Introduction

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ, today I have the privilege to once again proclaim the Gospel of our Lord to you.

Our theme for this sermon is:  /The preaching of the Gospel:  the preachers of the Gospel./

First of all, for the sake of the children, let’s remind ourselves of the story of David and Absalom his son.

2Samuel 18 records the rebellion of Absalom against his father, King David.

Absalom was ready to kill his own father so he could become king.

David fled the city of Jerusalem and eventually crossed the Jordan.

Absalom sacked Joab as commander of the army and replaced his with a man of his own choice.

Joab remained faithful to David.

The men who gathered in rebellion against David pursued them.

Under the command of Joab, David’s men engaged in battle against the army of Absalom in the Forest of Ephraim.

We know the story of how Absalom’s hair got stuck in the thick of a tree where Joab drove his javelin through him and he died.

In the meantime David was waiting in the city for news from the battlefront.

Two messengers ran to the city to tell David the news of what had happened, and that Absalom had been killed.

One of the men who ran back with the news was Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, the priest.

He thought if anyone he should be bringing the good news.

But Joab commanded a Cushite, and he immediately started running.

Ahimaaz couldn’t help himself and also started running.

As these men ran home, one after the other, and they were spotted by the watchman, David said, “They must be bringing good news.”

(2Samuel 18:25, 27).

With this in mind, as were the custom then in times of war, runners running along the mountains from the battlefront were the bringers of good news.

Prophets and ministers of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ are seen as those with the good news, sent by God, running to tell about the victory of Jesus Christ of hell, sin and Satan.

The four last worship services we heard about different aspects of the Gospel of the Lord.

We heard about the /effect/ of the Gospel, the /demand/ of the Gospel and the /content/ of the Gospel and then the /Lord /of the Gospel:  we understood from the Bible that Jesus Christ, as the origin of all things and therefore also of the Gospel, is at the same time the main theme of the Gospel.

This morning we ask the question:  /“What does the preaching of the Gospel entail?”/

What do ministers do when they preach when they preach?

Who are ministers and who gives them the right to preach?

When the people of God hear the Gospel preached by the ministers called by God, why should their reaction be?

!!! 2.  Ministers of the Gospel:  mouthpieces of the Jesus Christ

Let’s start with this question:  Who are ministers and who gives them the right to preach?

The Bible is clear about the fact that God calls people to the ministry of the Word.

God ordained certain tasks for certain people and He also equips and empowers them to fulfil their ministry.

God specifically called Moses to be a /mediator/ between Him and his people.

God called the sons of Aaron to be the /priests/.

God called specific people to be the /prophets/ of his Word to the people, and He ordained that there would be /elders/ who would lead the people.

2.1 Korah, Dathan and Abiram

There was a day in the history of Israel when some rebelled against Aaron and Moses.

They were not happy with the idea that they had to submit to the authority of these men.

Listen to what they said:

They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far!

The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them.

Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

(Numbers 16:3)

Now, they were not wrong in what they said in the first part of their statement.

The whole community was holy, everyone of them, and the Lord was with them.

That was and still is the absolute truth about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the people left Egypt and they were summoned by the Lord to gather at the foot of the Mountain of the Lord, before the Law was given to them, the Lord declared to them:

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.

Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.

(Exodus 19:4-6)

Indeed, they were called God’s holy nation and a kingdom of priests.

But it also true that the Lord commanded that Aaron and his sons would be the priests who would to the service around the altar.

It was not the prerogative of every man to do so.

The service of the priests on their behalf, and the sacrifices offered on their behalf by the Levites was accounted to them as if they did it themselves.

In the same way the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life for us as the sacrifice which was pleasing to God, we stand before Him as his children – but only in the Name of Christ, and only on account of his sacrifice.

The mistake Korah, Dathan and Abiram made was to assume the authority God ordained for the priests only to appear on behalf of the people onto themselves.

When Moses and Aaron did their appointed duties they saw it as if these men were elevating themselves above the rest as if they were more important.

This was not the case.

They only obeyed the command of the Lord.

God dealt with these rebels; they went alive into the ground through and earthquake and 250 others were swept away in fire.

2.2 Messengers called and sent by God

This very same principle is continued into the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul asks this question in Romans:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent?

As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15)

Here he quotes a verse from Isa 52:7.

The feet of those who proclaimed the Word of God were those called and sent by God to be His mouthpiece to the people.