Threshing and Declaring

"Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you."

Isaiah 21:10

There is a good application from this verse for all who preach the Word of God.  The role of a teaching pastor is much like that of a chef, in that the preparation of a sermon is similar to preparing a meal.  Quality ingredients are prepared, mixed in the right proportion, and cooked or baked to make nutritious, hopefully delicious dishes.  The audience is considered, even as a chef would adapt his fare to appeal to children or a gourmet critic.  A preacher would be wise not to approach a class of year-three children the same way he would a lecture in seminary.  The truth of the message must not be changed, but the presentation should be altered slightly to communicate the truth of scripture in a way it can be easily understood and received by the listeners.  Appropriate illustrations and applications tailored by the Holy Spirit shed light to illuminate profound spiritual truths in simple ways.

After wheat or other grains are harvested, they must be threshed before they can be eaten or ground into meal.  Threshing is the violent process of separating the inedible husk and stalk from the wholesome grain.  If you are interested for an amazing transcript of a sermon on the subject of threshing by C.H. Spurgeon, follow this link!  A preacher's job is not to read the Bible and thresh the good from the inedible, for all of God's Word is spiritually wholesome, nutritious, and good.  A preacher's own thoughts, motive, and words, however, must be thoroughly threshed.  There are plenty of inedible, coarse, and empty words naturally found in me which must be threshed from my discourses.  We must carefully weigh our interpretations and applications of the text according to the leading of the Spirit to cull our own opinions so we might faithfully hold forth the wholesome Word.  A bushel of chaff is not as valuable as a few kernels of good grain.

May all preachers of the Word be able to say, "That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you."  We are to preach the Word, not ourselves.  My opinions and words of my crafting are chaff, but the Word of the LORD will endure forever.  God's Word is good seed which has the potential to transform, cleanse, grow in the hearts of willing hearers, and be fruitful.  Preachers must allow God's Word to thresh us of errors so we might faithfully preach as the scripture exhorts in 2 Timothy 4:1-4:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."

Let us declare faithfully the truths of God's Word, and also strive to be doers of the Word.  We cannot expect our sermons to have any lasting effect on anyone if we ourselves are not transformed.  God designed men with two ears and two eyes, and there is little value in a preacher who is all mouth.  We must hear from the LORD and submit to God's truth before we have anything of value to say.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  Praise the LORD for the effectual life in His Word, and those who hear it and obey will be established and fruitful for God's glory!