Why We Need Expository Preaching in Missions

All right, making disciples, going baptizing, teaching people to obey everything Christ has commanded us. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church: When did you write that book?

I don’t know. In the ’90s, somewhere.

The ’90s, somewhere in there.

It’s a series I preached in my church, and then Crossway published it.

Expository Preaching in the Church and Missions

Excellent. Obviously, if you’ve not read it, I would highly encourage it. First mark of the church: expository preaching. What in the world is that, and why would you say that is the first mark of the healthy church?

Yeah, because apart from God speaking to us, we would just be lost in darkness. We’d be on our own way. We can’t find God ourself. We just can’t do it. First of all, we don’t even want to, but He is invisible. He is holy, and we’re not, so He’s separate from us. So God has to speak. He has to reveal himself. Okay, well, if that’s the case, how’s that going to happen? Well, through His Word. He’s given us His Word, and He’s gifted people in the church to teach His Word. So if you’re going to have a healthy church, you begin by letting it be calibrated by God and God’s revelation of Himself, and that’s His Word.

So at the very center, you need expositional preaching. You were talking about Ruth earlier, where you go to the Book of Ruth. You teach people the Book of Ruth. You teach people the truth of the Book of Ruth. You teach them to see how you get that so that they understand it. You do like Ezra and the priest do in Nehemiah 8, where you just explain the law of God to the people. You do that prayerfully, applying it to their hearts and lives, praying for God to do that effectually, by His Spirit. And then He just does wonderful things, like He’s done here at Brook Hills like we’ve seen Him do in so many churches. Praise God.

The Word does the work.

Yeah, and isn’t it amazing? I mean, haven’t you preached a sermon before, and you’ve just said to Heather, “Ah, it didn’t go that well today,” and yet God uses it powerfully?

Oh, was it last week? I think it was. Yes, it was right after I got back from being at T4G. I had not had as much time that week to work on the sermon stuff, preparation, as normal. But I preached the text, I hope faithfully, that Sunday, but I just thought, “Oh, what a downer.” I looked down the front row. Somebody who I know well is kind of falling asleep, and I’m like, “Ah, this is just not going.”

And then two days later, we’re sitting around, and somebody says, “I had a conversation with a guy who said that was the most influential sermon.” And he’s been here a while, and he’s heard me preach.

Praise God.

Yeah, and yes, it’s the Word that does the work.

In Expository Preaching, the Word does the Work

What’s that line I mentioned to you, from Sinclair Ferguson, who, when he had preached a sermon, he didn’t feel it was very good? And somebody was telling him how powerfully God had used it in somebody’s life. He said, “That man heard a better sermon than I preached.”

Yeah, yeah, yes. That’s pretty much the story, consistently, at Brook Hills.

Yeah, brother, I feel that too, man.

We Should Encourage One Another with the Word

Yeah, absolutely. All right, so going baptizing, teaching. Now, let me ask one more question about teaching. Then I want to close with the All Nations part of the Great Commission. But with teaching, that description of teaching in the Great Commission, is there a level at which all Christians should be teaching the Word? Or is this an optional extra, for those who are particularly gifted? So when it comes to teaching, how does that look in every believer’s life? Or does it not play out in every single believer’s life?

I think when you look at the end of a number of Paul’s letters when you look at Titus 2, you see them admonishing one another or encouraging one another. You see the older women teaching the younger women. I think there’s a sense throughout the New Testament that while there is a unique authoritative teaching that’s done by the elders of the church, all Christians encourage each other with a word, with the Psalms, with singing, with prayer, praying, confessing your sins to each other. That one-another ministry is a vital part of how God means us to grow in Christ.