You just said to me that you dont know the hearts and spiritual state of men. Wouldnt this be true for the men of the past who we read did such things? Do we really know the hearts of all the people who cried out. I have no reason to doubt that they were truly convicted and even saved . But we don't know the hearts. If a man came to you and he was in a false religious group, lets say the Mormons, and he told you of a sermon that was read to many people and they all were convicted and many came to believe and had the burning in their hearts after the notes were read, would you believe? and would you convert to Mormonism? I don't think so.
But this type of reading of convicting words was more like evangelism to save the lost. A believer would not have the same conviction, they are in the faith and have already judged them sleves guilty before God and received Christ. Evangelistic meetings of those days were wide spread and large halls were set up for such meetings. These eveangelistic meetings became the church meetings and in doing so the body ministry was hindered. yes even in a home meeting where all are free to minister someone might have something to read or a scripture to read that has already been inspired. But in the reading of such things there should still be a waiting on God and leading of God in faith. But again even the pharisees who were rebuked and warned by Jesus as hypocrites and in danger of hell, could read scripture and the scripture could still help the people. But I am speaking of Gods order in the body and what Christ does as the head of the body, this is the way believers should function, regardless of the certain moments when God uses evangelism to convict or other means. God spoke a rebuke through a donkey once does that mean we are to place donkey's in our meetings and wait for God to speak through them? No God forbid.
"5 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."
As far as having a preplanned church gathering written down with a program, where only the pastor has a message and a few singers can sing. This is not right, the entire body is not on such pre written programs nor I fear is Christ . Yes God can break into mans order and speak and use scripture to reach them. But the order is not as the apostles set order in the churches, or how they ought to behave themselves .
Also just because a large group of people are moved by something does not mean it is all right, we see massive crowds following men today and Peter warns that many shall follow false teachers. Yet the ones following the false teachers would speak all sorts of good things about them and how true and convicting they were. Do we just believe this based on either their testimony or the words written about their meetings from the past. If we take large groups of people to justify a person speaking right , then many would have to erroniously say the Pope is the true man because of the millions that follow him and speak of his words affecting them. is this the road we are going down? i do not believe in the Popes authority or word. Yes if he speaks scripture I can say that is true. But this is not a true believer as scripture could show by the belief system and words spoken by him and other Popes. yes truly only God knows the heart, but you know a tree by its fruits and out of the heart the mouth speaks.
I am not saying that when the sinners in the hands of an angry God was read that men did not get saved. But again we dont know for sure as you say we cannot know the hearts of them in the past. But even if God breaks through in an evangelistic warning to the lost, and many lost get saved by something read. This is not the order for a church meeting where all can share and edify one another under Christ headship. If just reading was needed as that sermon was read. Then why not read that sermon over and over again in every gathering and to all peoples today and we should get the same results? This has not happened and the same results do not happen when everyone reads that. I can see , from having read that message myself how the words can be convicting to a lost soul.But this cannot be repeated like a routine or else the entire world might have the same result if so done.
But in a church gathering where believers are already saved they would not be fearing hell or having to get saved. This again was for the lost in evangelism. But evangelsit has a God given gift. God doesnt say to all those who have such a gift, go read sinners in the hands of an angry God to all the lost and thats what you need to do, or read this other written sermon from the past etc. Paul said he was a minister of the spirit and not the letter. What does that mean to you? I know he is referring to the Mosaic law there. But being a minister of the spirit is different than the letter. Even if we use scripture which is a letter,written by the Spirit we need to be in that same spiritual life to understand it and t be led by God in utterance of it.
some of the revivalist of those days, who many would consider evangelist, spoke in many different ways. I am not speaking about winning souls in evangelism. But I can read from those days from men of the past, (non of whom I am lifting up or promoting here, I am just referring to them)
here is an excerpt from one of the revival preachers of those days
"(3.) It is impossible for a man who writes his sermons to arrange his matter, and turn and choose his thoughts, so as to produce the same effect as when he addresses the people directly, and makes them feel that he means them. Writing sermons had its origin in times of political difficulty. The practice was unknown in the apostles' days. No doubt written sermons have done a great deal of good, but they can never give to the Gospel its great power. Perhaps many ministers have been so long trained in the use of notes, that they had better not throw them away. Perhaps they would make bad work without them. The difficulty would not be for the want of mind, but from wrong training. The bad habit is begun with the school boy, who is called to "speak his piece." Instead of being set to express his own thoughts and feelings in his own language, and with his own natural manner, such as nature herself prompts, he is made to commit another person's writing to memory, and then mouths it out in a stiff and formal way. And so when he goes to college, and to the seminary, instead of being trained to extempore speaking, he is set to writing his piece, and commit it to memory. I would pursue the opposite course from the beginning. I would give him a subject, and let him first think, and then speak his thoughts. Perhaps he will make mistakes. Very well, that is to be expected--in a beginner. But he will learn.": ( Charles Finney , Lectures on revivals and religion "
the church function under Christ headship where every joint supplies and edifies one another is not a lecture format with a speaker at the front where all come to just hear the eloquent talker who has collected his ideas on a paper. I am not against men writing books or using whatever means they have to win souls. But I speak of the power of the Spirit and the anointing that teaches all things. When a message is read even if it is read dry like Sinners in the hands of an angry God was and it has already been written down. The real work of convicting is inward in the hearts of people. This is the word of God the true Light that lights every man, that convicts them and reproves them. This is all a deeply spiritual aspect going on in the hearts. But men come to be true christians and gather in that power together in Christ a message of them going to hell will not produce such an effect. Unless they are in sin at that time.
I will also say a word about emotionalism of today . Many can be whipped up into a frenzy of emotionalism and fear by the words men speak, we see large crowds being caught up in this. It is almost contagous. Why do we think that many shall follow the pernicious ways of false teachers in 2 peter 2. No doubt the false teachers have some sway to affect the emotions of their hearers.
also, I can point to men of the past that did not use notes in preaching and had huge crowds saved. Peter on the day of Pentecost was one of them and there are others through history as well. But again we are speaking of evangelism there.
We can most likely agree that even a wicked man or a devil could read a pre arranged sermon who are themselves void of true grace and anointing. And scripture warns of of such men and we do not need such men to teach us, or man at all as John says. So to just defend the making and reading of sermons in themself, though God make break in and touch the hearts of men, does not justify to have them as a form where anyone can speak them regardless of their heart or lack of grace given. This would be like setting a donkey in the midst of us and waiting for God to speak .Or saying yes, God can use the donkey, we see it in scripture.
The apostle preached the gospel "not in the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be of none effect" (1 Cor. 1:17). But the preaching and teaching not done in the moving and leading of God's Spirit but instead in the natural wisdom and eloquence of mans own learning is the wisdom of words is not according to Pau'ls words here.
It is the power of God that believers stand in, by the word of God. If a man writing a message or sermon does not seek to be led of God or have the anointing teach him all things then he is doing so in his natural learning and eloquence and mixes and adds such words that they find in scripture or from other old writers etc.then he does not so in the power of God. Yes many will not confess to waiting upon God for his moving to do such things and for the anointing to teach them all things but rather in their own wisdom and learning relying on other sources.
and all this sermon writing and having one man speak over all which quenches the spirit in others and hinders the body ministry under Christ headship, is wrong and not according to the functioning of the body of Christ regardless of the so called good it does. God can be the enemy of the best God has for us. And God commands that men be allowed to wait for Him in revelation of anything and sharing etc 1 Cor. 14:26-38
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