The church that I was raised in would
have special meetings each year, usually a week long, which they
called revivals. They would often have one meeting
in the spring and then another one in the fall. These meetings
would feature special music and the centerpiece was always an
entertaining preacher, usually someone from out of town who
was called an evangelist. Folks were expected to invite
their neighbors and the unchurched to come and hear these preachers
in hopes of adding new members and stirring up the church to
greater dedication and even hopefully producing an increase in the
tithes and offerings. Now these evangelists were not
just your average run-of-the-mill preacher, but were men of great
oratorical skills who could tell humorous stories and enjoyable
anecdotes, keeping the folks entertained. They were also skilled
in preaching heaven so high and glorious that you could hear
the angels sing, and even Grandma, she had gone on, and hell so
hot and fearsome that it made your shirt tail run up and down
your back like a windy shade. They would often explain the
millennium, the rapture, and the great tribulation in such
a convincing manner that one could expect these things to
occur at any minute. Now these evangelists were rated
on how many decisions for Christ they could produce during these
meetings. So not only were they skilled in tugging at the heartstrings
of their hearers through their animated preaching, but they
really excelled in being able to persuade folks down the aisle
at the end of the meeting when they would use various methods
to convince their hearers that this might be their last chance
to be saved. They usually call this an invitation,
which was opening up an opportunity for folks to escape hell and
gain heaven by a simple act of their free will, letting Christ
into their hearts, or in the case of those who had already
let Him in, allowing Him to be the Lord of their life. As a
lad, I observed these goings-on, and while the euphoria surrounding
these meetings was usually enjoyable, I knew that soon everything would
be back to normal, and the folks that rededicated their lives
would have forgotten this commitment in a few weeks, and most of those
who had gotten saved would just fade away. Revivalism is the
attempt of men to gain the Kingdom of God by the efforts of the
fleshly understanding, will, and emotions. It is built upon
the notion that man can influence God to perform mighty works and
gain His favor by their own efforts, prayers, and obedience to certain
principles and activities. This is a totally foreign concept
to that which Paul sets forth as the purpose of God in preaching. The preaching which the Lord
uses in saving those that believe is not the product of man's natural
abilities or performance. Paul plainly sets forth the necessity
of a preacher being sent by the Lord rather than invited by a
committee, hired for a job, or being part of a man-made side
show. The preaching which saves those
that believe is the work of God and not man. It is a message
which is specifically designed to bring about the desired result.
We see an illustration of the sending of a preacher in the
account of the Ethiopian eunuch. The Lord had begun a work in
this eunuch as he was earnestly seeking to know the way of God.
Thus the Lord prepared and provided a preacher and gave him the exact
message he was to deliver. Salvation is accomplished completely
by the one who is the Savior. There is the aspect of being
saved which is accomplished by the Redeemer long before any
of the saved ever knew that it was done, as he obtained eternal
redemption for them. Then there is the aspect of salvation
wherein the Spirit of God awakens those who shall be saved. The
gospel is the blessed message which brings this salvation,
that is, the knowledge and enjoyment of it, to the sons of God. The
preaching of the gospel does not bring life to anyone, for
that event can only occur by the operation of the Spirit of
God in the new birth. Yet it is pleased the Lord to
use vessels of clay as instruments in declaring the truth of the
gospel, which he is pleased to use to enlighten those whom he
gives ears to hear and eyes to see. Thus we see that the Lord
brings salvation to his people through the preaching of the
gospel, for he gives the message, sends the messenger, and gives
them faith to believe. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.