“I will preach it full!” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
I think this may be among the most humbling statements a preacher could hear. In a day where the appeal to the local church, ministry, or pastor is to employ nearly every idea man could dream up to fill up a church, it’s easy to set down this duty of preaching and fill the church with people who love everything/one before God and to not care for preaching.
I recently heard this quote from Lloyd-Jones in a regular podcast I listen to by Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, on Reasons why Sermons Fail. I was stopped in my tracks when I heard this. I was encouraged that this labor in the Gospel is a preaching labor. Yes, pastoring has more duties, but the duty at the gathering location on the Lord’s Day is to faithful, biblical preaching.
I think it is best to see that the goal is not to “fill”, the goal is faithful to the duty biblical preaching. If God is to fill the church it be upon the duty of faithful biblical preaching. If God is to empty the church let it be the result of faithful biblical preaching. It is God’s work to fill the church, it is my duty as a shepherd to faithfully preach biblical sermons.
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Dear Fellow Preacher,
Let’s commit to set down every distracting methodology of men and pick up the pulpit duty of faithful biblical preaching. If God is to fill our churches, let it be upon the preaching of His word. I’m praying for you as you prepare to preach this coming Lord’s Day.
To our pulpits; PREACH!
A recent sermon from Isaiah:
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