In the pursuit of success in life and ministry, a fundamental question emerges: “Do I belong to Him?” This inquiry transcends the conventional measures of success, emphasizing that true and lasting success is intricately tied to belonging to the divine. It goes beyond delivering compelling messages or making astute leadership decisions; it hinges on aligning ourselves with Him. As we embark on the journey of preaching, four crucial questions demand our attention, encapsulating the essence of belief, authenticity in preaching, leadership orientation, and unwavering trust in the promises laid out in Isaiah 55:8-13. These questions, under the spotlight, become indispensable reflections for anyone preparing to preach, ensuring that conviction, genuine belief, and steadfast commitment to His Word pave the way for enduring success.
4 Questions to Ask Before You Preach
1. Do I Belong To Him?
The key to success in life/ministry isn’t preaching a good message and/or making a great series of leadership decisions … we will only be successful long term if we belong to Him.
If we belong to Him we will say what He tells us to say and do what He tells us to do–if we belong to “them” we will always back down.
2. Do I Believe This?
In other words–are you smokin’ what your sellin’?
- We can’t preach on purity if we aren’t fighting to be pure.
- We can’t preach on money if we are robbing God.
- We can’t preach on integrity if we are not letting our yes be yes and our no be no.
When we preach something we’ve got to believe it or else we will preach from convenience and not conviction.
3. Am I Leading Or Responding?
We should seek to lead our people through the preaching of His Word–period!
I used to feel like I had to respond to all of the questions/complaints I received the week before in the upcoming message … and doing so caused me to lose focus on where our church needed to go and what was best for the majority of the people in attendance.
4. Do I Believe the Promise in Isaiah 55:8-13?
Nothing is more discouraging to a preacher than when we preach our guts out and there seems to be zero response. However, God’s Word promises that if we are faithful to declare it that it will NOT return without producing a harvest.
Sometimes we do get to see immediate results but most of the time God will take His Word and work it into the hearts and minds of the hearers over time. Trust God and His Word–a harvest IS coming!
