Preaching with Power

The following is to aspiring preachers whose word, like their Master’s, shall be “with power.” 

Power, energy, efficiency, that is the endowment to be communicated showing great care, attention, and effort by the ministers of Christ’s church.   

By the power of which I have spoken, I mean that strong action of the understanding, conscience, and heart on moral and religious truth, through which the preacher is quickened and qualified to awaken the same strong action in others.

 I mean energy of thought and feeling in the minister, creating for itself an appropriate expression, and propagating itself to the hearer and able to arrest attention, rouse emotion, and give a new spring to the soul. 

Knowledge when accumulated, as it often is, 

with no strong action of the intellect, 

no vividness of conception, 

no depth of conviction, 

no force of feeling, 

is of little or no worth to the preacher. 

We want force of thought and feeling, and purpose. What profits it to arm the pupil with weapons of heavenly temper, unless his hands be nerved to wield them with vigor and success? 

The word of God is indeed “quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword:” but when committed to him who has no kindred energy, it does not and cannot penetrate the mind.  

We want powerful ministers, not graceful declaimers, not elegant essayists, but men fitted to act on men, to make themselves felt in society.

 I mean power to act on intelligent and free beings, by means proportioned to their nature. 

I mean power to call into healthy exertion the intellect, conscience, affections, and moral will of the hearer. 

The loose conceptions of Christianity which prevail among the high as well as the low, do not deserve the name of “knowledge.” 

The loftiest minds among us seldom put forth their strength on the very subject for which intelligence was especially given. 

A great revolution is needed here. 

The human intellect is to be brought to act on religion with new power. It ought to prosecute this inquiry with an intenseness with which no other subject is investigated. 

And does it require no energy in the teacher to awaken this power and earnestness of thought in others, to bring religion before the intellect as its worthiest object, to raise men’s traditional, lifeless, superficial faith into deliberate profound conviction?

And is energy not needed to break through the barriers of pride and self-love, and to place the individual before a tribunal in his own breast as solemn and searching as that which awaits him at the last day?  

The preachers in Christ’s church are to give Spirit led vitality to the thought of God in the human mind; to make His presence felt; to make Him a reality, and the most powerful reality to the soul. 

Is it easy, in a world of matter and sense? 

amidst crowds of impressions rushing in from abroad, amidst the constant and visible agency of second causes, 

amidst the anxieties, 

toils, 

pleasures, 

dissipations, 

and competitions of life, 

in the stir and bustle of society, and in an age when luxury wars with spirituality, and the development of nature’s resources are turning men’s trust from the Creator, -- is it easy, amidst these gross interests and detracting influences, to raise men’s minds to the invisible Divinity? to fix impressions of God deeper and more enduring than those which are received from all other beings, to make Him the supreme object, spring, and motive of the soul? 

It is the minister’s duty to inculcate a piety characterized by wisdom as much as by warmth;  

The minister is to teach an earnest but enlightened religion:” a piety which, far from wasting or eradicating, will protect, nourish, freshen the mind’s various affections and powers; 

which will add force to reason, as well as ardor to the heart; which will at once bind us to God, and cement and multiply our ties to our families, our country, and mankind; which will heighten the relish of life’s pleasures, whilst it kindles an unquenchable thirst for a purer happiness in the life to come. 

Religion does not mutilate our nature. It does not lay waste our human interest and affections, that it may erect for God a throne amidst cheerless, and solitary ruins, but widens the range of thoughts, feeling, and enjoyment. 

But it is the minister’s duty to rouse men to self-conflict. To warfare with the evil in their own hearts. This is in truth the supreme evil. The sorest calamities of life – sickness, poverty, scorn, dungeons and death – form a less amount of desolation and suffering than is included in that one word, sin. 

In revolt from God, in disloyalty to conscience, in the tyranny of passions, in thralldom of the soul’s noblest powers. 

To redeem men from sin was Christ’s great end. 

To pierce them with a new consciousness of sin, so that they shall groan under it and strive against it, and through prayer and watching, master it: this is an essential part of the minister’s work. 

Let him not satisfy himself with awakening by his eloquence occasional emotions of gratitude or sympathy. He must rouse the soul to solemn, stern resolve against its own deep and cherished corruptions, or he only makes a show of assault, and leaves the foe intrenched and unbroken within. 

We see then, the arduousness of the minister’s work. He is called to war with might of the human passions, with the whole power of moral evil. He is to enlist men, not for a crusade, nor for extermination of heretics, but to fight a harder battle within, to expel sin in all its forms and especially their besetting sins, from the strongholds of the heart. 

I know no task so arduous, none which demands equal power.

And finally, with this purifying purpose of duty, pray for the Holy Spirit and you will receive it. A secret influence will aid your efforts after oneness with God. 

I believe too, that you may be favored with those blessed seasons of universal light and strength, of which good men have often spoken, in which the mind seems warmed by a new flame and quickened by a new energy from on high, and which, though not miraculous, will bring a near consciousness of Christ and bring the very breath of God upon your soul.” 

William Ellery Channing.  

 

    Last night, my son and a mutual friend and I, took the men working at the Union Gospel Mission's Thrift Store to a men's BBQ at one of the Mega Churches here.

The venue for the evening was first games, then the BBQ, and then a message.

I stood awestruck at the spreading campus, nestled in the pines with multiple green grass sections, acre after acre.

800 men attended from this huge church, and they were frolicking and playing shuttle cock, corn-hole, and other amusements.

It was like Paradise Found! I was amazed as I viewed, what looked to my eyes, like a beautiful Country Club, where everyone was enjoying the sports while waiting for the BBQ to be served.

The dinner bell rang and they presented 140 racks of ribs, pounds and heaps of pulled pork with all the fixings. Thirty coolers containing soft drinks and ice cream, something for every palate.

We found an area to sit, in the nose-bleed section, a group of rag-tag men that stood out like a thumb among the cashmere and Metro men's fashions.

But there we sat, all the men but one were strangers to me, but my son introduced me to the men when we picked them up at the store to whisk them off for an adventure outside the walls of the Mission.

The conversations were easy, humorous, engaging and my heart drank in every moment with the men.

As we sat there, underneath the pines, the conversations were going on at rapid rate, hearts were open, their souls were desperately hungry, and conversation flowed, as all the activities around us dimmed, and in our little group, we had CHURCH!

We all stood up when the singing began, led by a fella who looked to me about 17, with his guitar pouring out the latest contemporary Christian songs, none of which I knew; and one of the men I was talking with sat down and I could see he wasn't engaged, so I asked him if he wanted to go and talk somewhere, he immediately said yes, so we got up and found a place sitting on concrete stairs away from all the froo-froo and beauty, and for the next hour he poured out his heart.

We got up when the crowd began dispersing and looked for our group, easy to spot in the huge crowd of metro clothes.

There wasn't a single pause in the conversations all night as these men, coming from horridly traumatic backgrounds, drank in simple fellowship where connections were made, laughter and stories flowed; and all this without intoxicants or evil conversations.

The men thanked us as they hugged us, and we parted.

My son and I drove home drinking in the Holy Spirit's afterglow that permeated every fiber of my being.

 

 

"Did we forget there is a battle raging for the lives and souls of men and women of all ages?

“You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms…”

Jeremiah 51:20

I had a morning dream picture as I was meditating on my week of mission outreaches and ministry opportunities.

It was a picture of a man bearing only a large battle axe, throwing himself upon the shields of a hoard of enemies.

It looked like a desperate but defiant act. It was a call to action within the knowledge of a seemingly impossible scenario.

I’m in a lot of different circles of mission, ministry and mentoring and one of the most concerning challenges I see is the rarity of a battle focused warrior.

“The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭51‬:‭30

‬ ‭

There’s too many men that have lost their fighting edge, 

the spirit of war has been replaced with timid pursuits, 

easy endeavors and listless lives. 

The horn of battle is sounded and few are roused to alarm.

The enemies of all that is good, beautiful and true have seized the most meaningful places of true power and lasting influence and there are few that feel hot blood boiling within them to retake the ground lost or stolen.

“The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the fighting men are terrified.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭51‬:‭32

 ‭

Blades have been turned into fishing gear, 

recreation has replaced rescuing 

and entertainment has distracted the regiments.

Meanwhile the cities and communities of America are smoldering battlefields of countless lives destroyed by every type of sin and suffering.

“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty dish; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies; he has vomited me out.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭51‬:‭34‬

 ‭

The frontlines are desperately waiting for reinforcements as the war weary are being pressed to bayonet proximity.

Too many Christians have settled into a peace that’s really an illusion built out of compromise, complacency and culpability.

We need a fresh move of repentance that awaken us from lethargy and lukewarm affections and breaks through the comfortable addictions that have turned us from the causes of Christ.

I tire of roaming believers who seek churches like house hunters on HGTV instead of glory hungry soldiers seeking death defying assignments.

When did we breed out the New Testament apostolic and prophetic spirit and replaced it with shopping list religion?

The whore of Babylon is in the business of castration and hysterectomies. She reduces us to mere shifting shadows of the image of God we were created to enjoy and reveal in this dark age.

Our betraying deconstructions are not hidden to Jesus as we mimic the 

“Surely it isn’t I”

 around our Last Supper confessions like a Judas planning our great exit from the fellowship of the called and confirmed.

Doubt and even denial are not the sisters of betrayal. They are the stumblings of the faithful, not the hangings of the dead.

It is long past the time for revelry, it’s the hour of decision. Who do you serve: Self, Satan or the Savior?

“He is famous for breaking the spirit of the powers that be and the kings of the earth will know him as the Fearsome One!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭76‬:‭12‬ 

Pastor Eric Blauer.‭

(Art: Frank Frazetta ‘The Destroyer’)

 

*Warning, Graphic post*

The following is a description of a woman's husband and his behavior. 

It is graphic, sadly, life can be graphic and disturbing. If you don't want to read about the oppressive and debauched behaviors of some men, don't continue. I talk with women, and men, that are in toxic relationships and try and guide them to resources and programs that can help them escape abusive relationships. I wish this was rare, but this is not that uncommon. Men such as this are what fuels women's movements and hatred. Sadly, there will be someone reading this that acts like this, in greater or lesser degree. This is her true story ---

"Our relationship is hanging by a thread. 

He works part time and makes a good living at his job. 

He took me and my kid in when I was struggling and basically saved me from being homeless. 

He wanted me to be a stay-at-home mom, at one point demanded it. 

Financially it’s the most logical thing for me to stay home. But he has had this mindset that since he makes the money, it’s my job to not only clean the house (sweep, mop, dishes, counters etc.), but also be his maid, picking up all the tons of candy wrappers he throws all over the place, soda cans, Powerade bottles, his clothes off the floor, wipe up all the messes he makes (spilling things, blowing snot on shower walls etc.). 

He also says he’s not Mr. fix it. 

He doesn’t change light bulbs, doesn’t fix anything that breaks in the house (haven’t had a dishwasher for several months, it just needs the spinner that shoots water replaced), we have doors that are off the hinges and won’t close, our bedroom and the bathroom, he won’t fix it. 

He says I’m at home all day so it’s my job to fix things. 

He also only focuses on his sexual needs, he says it’s my job to give him the sex he wants (anal sex and blow jobs only) and basically daily, sometime more than once a day, and my sexual needs only get taken care of once a month or two and typically is just him using a device while he lays there. He doesn’t have an ounce of passion or intimacy towards me. 

Only time he touches me is if he’s trying to get some.

 He smokes the green stuff daily. He has as lowered his intake after me nearly leaving because of it, used to be $600 a month for it. Now is at about half that I think. 

It makes his stink, his clothes, his breathe, everything. Not to mention he snores so bad because of his bad health from smoking, the two weeks he didn’t smoke or cbd vape, his snoring got so much better, he says it was just a coincidence cause his allergies were better at that time. 

I can’t sleep at night. It’s so bad, 

I’m constantly tired during the day from lack of sleep mixed with depression from all of this. 

Also he controls everything. We live together, and he has to be in control of when the bedroom light gets turned off at night, when the tv gets turned off in the bedroom, what the ac in the room is set to, and what position I sleep in so he can cuddle how he wants. 

What we do as a family is always what he wants to do as a family. What food we eat is typically what he wants, usually being eating out where he spends $50-100 just on his meal and drinks, while me and my child collectively spend $15-30 depending on where we go. 

He is in complete control of the money, he makes it so I’m not allowed to have access to the account. I have to go to the check-out and give him a total and wait for the cashier to give me a total and tell him and have him Cash-app me the exact amount so I can pay for groceries and household needs with my card. On occasion he will send an extra $5 or $10 with it for me to splurge for myself. 

He literally has 3 sometimes 4 days off a week and lays in bed all day most of his days off watching sports, playing games on his phone, smoking the green, and texting me telling me to come in the room to handle his sex needs. 

He also calls me names when he is mad at me, bitch, retard, dumb, etc.

My child loves him."