God gave me this sermon?

I wonder, have you ever heard a preacher say something like this: “God spoke to me and gave me this message.” Or maybe heard a pastor claim, “Just this week, as I was mowing the lawn, God told me what He wanted me to preach today.” Once I heard a preacher say, he didn’t know what he was supposed to address the coming Sunday, but when he unfolded the morning newspaper God revealed it to him. Have you ever heard a preacher claim something like that? 

One pastor said God gave him a message while he was sitting in a tree stand deer hunting. Another church leader stated his sermon came to him while he was watching television. One speaker boldly maintains God frequently gives him sermons in dreams and night visions. I don’t mention these past examples to shame anyone. Nor is it my intention to be overly critical. I am a preacher and I love preachers and preaching. However, words matter. Truth matters. What someone claims matters. Especially as the eternal souls of men and women teeter on the edge of eternity. 

So, what do we do when a pastor claims to be a prophet receiving direct revelation from God? If you are a church-goer, and as such, you regularly sit in attendance as someone stands and preaches, I suggest it is vital that you have some idea where your minister gets his message. Are they in fact receiving direct communication from God Himself, as they claim, or not? 

Now to be perfectly honest, early in my ministry I made some of the same silly assertions as those listed above. I was absolutely convinced that God consistently “burdened my heart” with the exact message I was supposed to preach that exact Sunday to that exact audience. The truth is, my arrogant adolescence blinded me to how dangerous it was to make such unsubstantiated claims. The trouble is this; when a preacher, missionary, or evangelist says things like, “God gave me this message” … there simply is no way anyone can verify what this person is alleging is true! Seriously, think about that. Just because someone claims to be speaking for God, doesn’t make it so. Many false prophets have claimed to speak in God’s behalf. 

Understand this, when a preacher says “God gave them a message,” they are claiming Divine inspiration. Make no mistake about it, that is exactly what they are claiming. Let me say that again, when a speaker gets up and says, “God gave me this message,” they are claiming to be speaking in God’s behalf and with God’s authority. So here is my question, is the audience expected to obey this teacher and their teaching regardless of what is said or required?! As if God Himself had commanded the hearers what to do through this speaker? Frankly friends, I think not. Only when someone is rightly teaching what God has already commanded in His Word, are we required to obey. Not the frivolous claims of men who fancy they receive heavenly notifications.

Regardless of what some preachers assert, God doesn’t equip preachers with supernatural sermon receptors that flash red when messages are sent to them hot off the altar in heaven. I wish there was … I honestly do (at least I think I do). As someone who regularly preaches publicly, it might be great if there was some celestial communique from God notifying me exactly what sermon to preach each week. But that simply isn’t the case. And preachers who claim otherwise, are either like I was, ignorant, immature and arrogant; or they are simply deceiving themselves. 

God doesn’t write on the pastor’s office wall what passage he is supposed to preach each week. There isn’t some supernatural spot-light that shines over one block of the Bible revealing what text the pastor should choose. If a pastor is perusing Scripture trying to decipher what to preach, it’s not like God dispatches angels to ring the church bells at the exact moment he flips to the right page. And despite what some Christian ministers claim, God isn’t giving them direct revelation each week on which passage to preach. I know some of my pastor friends don’t like me saying that, but I contend it is true nonetheless. 

Without apology I submit, there is only ONE place from which sermons should originate – that is from God’s Holy Word. Preachers have been commanded to “preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2). We already have an authoritative and all-sufficient message from God contained in the 66 books of the Bible. God doesn’t require pastors to search for something new to say. No, Preach the Word. The preacher’s task is to clearly declare what God has already revealed in His Word, not try and unravel some secret code as to what to preach next. 

Pastor, I implore you, stop claiming God speaks to you in some unique manner that elevates you above the average Christian. It simply isn’t so. You may like the idea of having some holy hotline to heaven, but really, who are you trying to convince? Yourself or your hearers? Preacher, if you will intentionally and consistently walk your people through the Bible, verse by verse, then they don’t have to wonder where your sermon came from. Plus, you don’t have to pretend God speaks to you in some special way the rest of Christianity doesn’t experience.  And if you disagree with me just remember, all I have to do is claim God gave me this article! And now you have to believe me, right? 

Friend, be leery of preachers who feel the need to make eccentric claims. Instead, value those who faithfully effort preaching the Bible as the Almighty gave it. God’s Word is sufficient to save sinners and sanctify saints. Although it isn’t flashy, when a preacher systematically walks you through the Biblical text, you will learn eternal truths and you won’t have to worry about where the message came from! 

On September 12^th and 13^th, our church is having a special meeting with Pastor and author Jim Osman and he will address issues like the one in this article. All are welcome to join us. Find more information at mhbcperry.org.