Preaching’s Powerful Effects

My preaching is not especially powerful or persuasive. I am aware of only one convert in my 19 years of pulpit occupation and one called to ministry as a result of something I've said. So it’s fair to say I’m no Spurgeon. If I preach well at Salem, I may elicit a slightly nodding head or a whispered ‘Amen’. Let’s contrast that with my Islamic counterpart at the not-so-far-away Didsbury Mosque. Mustafa Graf, the imam, allegedly preached a sermon praising armed Jihad for Allah. Six months later, one of his hearers, Salman Abedi, detonated a suicide bomb following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in May 2017. Graf denied making such a comment, but the BBC employed a couple of Islamic scholars to listen to the sermon, and they concluded that it was referring to "military jihad”. It would be foolish to blame so horrific an act on one sermon. But how many others were preached that the BBC was not able to record?

How can the Islamic preacher procure such a powerful response, but the Christian preachers not? The difference is the message. Telling people they’re oppressed and abused and in need of violent remedy will always produce results. The carnal, sinful nature, with its selfishness and evil inclinations, glories in the prospect of revenge and malice. The evil was already present in Abedi; any provocative sermons he heard merely stirred it up. The gospel preacher, in contrast, urges his hearers to resist thoughts of violence, to love one’s enemies and to pray for those who persecute. The results may not be dramatic or newsworthy and their outward expressions may be no more than nods and whispers. Yet if ever I thought my preaching capable of drawing men to violence, I’d never speak again. If I thought my faith capable of blowing up children, I’d become apostate. This will never happen, seeing as our God-incarnate taught us this:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5