Tuesday, November 26th, 2019
By Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
" …the common people heard him gladly" (Mark 12:37 KJV)
The way the Lord Jesus preached and taught the Word is so inspiring and intriguing. He communicated the Gospel so simply. Our opening verse says the common people heard Him gladly. The word, “heard” doesn’t just mean to hear sound; rather, it means to understand the meaning of the sound.
You may preach what you might call an erudite sermon, but if those to whom you preach or minister can’t understand what you’re saying, then you’ve really not communicated effectively. T.L. Osborn once said, “When you teach, if the people haven’t learnt, you haven’t taught.” How true!
Preach and teach the Gospel with clarity. Take a cue from the Master; large crowds stormed His meetings and yearned to hear His beautiful, Spirit-filled words. They came, and kept coming, because they understood His words. Mark 8 reports how an immense crowd gathered to hear Him speak for three days. On another occasion, He prepped His disciples to have a boat in readiness for Him in case He was crowded off the beach, so He could preach to the people from the boat (Mark 3:9). How they loved His words!
His messages were neither vague nor laden with confusing thoughts. Even some of His detractors acknowledged that no one ever spoke like Him (John 7:46). He knew the category of people that thronged His meetings, and He gave the precise illustrations that drove home His point.
Once, as He walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother who were fishermen, and said to them, “…Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). His illustration was apt; something they could easily relate with.
The same should be said of you as you preach, teach or express the truths of the Gospel. Don’t use ambiguous, incomprehensible words; preach with clarity. This was something on the heart of Paul the Apostle. He desired to preach the message with clarity. In Colossians 4:4 (NLT), he said, “Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.” What a desire! Have this in mind always.
PRAYER
"Dear Father, I thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit in me to minister the Gospel in simplicity and power. My words, as I preach and teach, aren’t with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, inspiring faith in the hearts of my hearers, for salvation and blessings, in Jesus’ Name. Amen."
FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 2:4 AMPC; Colossians 2:3-4 AMPC; John 7:44-46 MSG
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 1 Peter 5 & Ezekiel 35-36
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: John 15:1-10 & 1 Chronicles 26