HOMILETICS 2 (THE IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING)

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THE IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING.

The importance of preaching can be pointed out as follows:

A. It is God’s chosen vehicle to call people back to himself for their salvation (Rom. 10:14-15, 17, 1 Cor. 1:18).

B. Preaching promotes obedience to God’s command (2 Tim. 4:2; Luke 9:62)

C. Preaching provokes God to heal and work miracles for the seekers (Mk. 1:32-39)

D. Preaching helps the people to determine their destiny (Titus 1:2-3)

E. Preaching builds up the believers to maturity in faith (2 Tim. 4:1-5)

BRIEF HISTORY OF PREACHING.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT.

History of preaching started with God in the Garden of Eden When He announced the coming of the seed of the woman Gen. 3:15; and ran like tread down to Enoch who became the first human preacher in the Old Testament Jude 14; Noah was also recorded as a preacher to his generation (2 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 3:30, Gen. 6:6-9)

There were men who were commended that they pleased God like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; but the next preacher in the line of Old Testament preachers was Moses, the son of Amran and Jochebed (Ex. 6:20) Moses proclaimed message from God among the Egyptians and the Israelites. He spoke in the authority of God and God performed many miracles through his hands.

Another notable preacher of the Old Testament was Jonah who was sent to Nineveh by God. Though Jonah ran away but God finally brought him to Nineveh through a big fish. His preaching brought repentance to a whole country in his time. Many prophets who lived at their time spoke on behalf of God to their generation.

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IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist stands out as a great preacher. (Matt. 3:1-3). John was a forerunner of Christ, his preaching made great number of people including soldiers to repent and John told his hearers to bear fruits that befits repentance ( Matt. 3:8) and those who accepted his message were baptized by John in river Jordan.

The next great preacher of the century was Jesus Christ who came preaching that "the kingdom of God is at hand". The people were asked by Christ to repent and believe the good news. (Mark 1:15) Jesus called and trained disciples who he sent out to go and preach the goods news of the kingdom.

They were asked to heal the sick and cast out demons ( Mark 3:13-15). On the day of Pentecost when Jesus Christ clothed the disciples with power to witness to all nations, Peter was empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit and he preached in the name of Jesus Christ and three thousand people gave their life to Christ at a meeting.

In the course of time, Paul and Barnabas were chosen by the same Holy Ghost and the church commissioned them to preach to the Gentiles (acts 13:1-3) and they set out to preach and plant churches wherever they went. God equally called other preachers; some are apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to continue the work of preaching the gospel. (Eph. 4:11).

In the reformation times, great preachers who affected their generation include: Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Zwingli to mention but a few. After them came Richard Baxter, Charles H. Sporgeon, John Wesley, John Knox, Charles and Finney.

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Modern Period witnessed the emergence of great preachers such as Oral Robert, George Jeffrey, Billy Graham, Shambach, Ernest Angeli, and many great African preachers of our time. God is still in the business of raising preachers who shall continue the ministry of preaching the gospel.

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