You Will Fail As A Preacher If You Do Not Do These 3 Things

On March 28, 2019, Dr. Crawford Lorrits spoke to many of the students of Dallas Theological Seminary.  In the video shown above, he gave them a clinic on what it means to be a successful preacher.  You should watch the entire video but I want to focus on a section of his message starting at the 16-minute mark.

Crawford focuses on the passage Joshua 1:8 which states, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Crawford makes three specific statements about the relevance for the Bible for preachers:

1. “The Bible is not going to be a point of reference for my ministry.  It is going to be the context of my ministry.”
2. “David his calling his sone (Solomon) to be immersed in truth.”
3. “This Bible is the identity of your ministry.”

He then goes on to point out the three primary relationships preachers are to have with the Bible.  Crawford then makes a prophetic statement.  If a preacher fails in any of these three areas, he can forget about being successful.

1. You Need To Proclaim Truth –  “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth”. Crawford states, “These people don’t need to hear your opinions and ideas.  They need a word from God.”  He goes on to add, “These people don’t need to hear your stories.  They don’t need to see your movie clips… They don’t need to hear that.  They need to hear a word from God.”
2. You Need To Possess Truth –  “you shall meditate on it day and night”  He says, “You have to absorb the truth.  This truth needs to become who you are… Absorb it.  Know it.  It is who you are…  It is not something you use.  It is not a ministry tool.  It is your identity.  It is living and powerful.  And the Spirit of God shows up when you honor the Word of God.  It is literally the voice of God.”
3. To Do All That Is Written In It – “so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”  Crawford makes an interesting observation.  He says, “Notice the pronoun. Then YOU will make YOUR way prosperous.”   He concludes this portion of the message by saying “Ministry is incarnational.  You have to become a picture of the desired destination at which others should wish to arrive.”

If your desire as a preacher is to make maximum impact for the Kingdom of God, you must do the three things listed above.

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