10 CHARACTORS OF A GOOD PREACHER

Characteristics Of A Good Preacher1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

1. A preacher must be bold (2 : 2)

Opposition and adversity must not silence the preacher of God.

” Let us all preach and teach with the same boldness, for “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Tim. 1:7).

2. Certain Of His Convictions (2:3)

A good preacher is very sure of his call. The Apostle Paul was very sure of his calling before he submit himself to God. Today we have preacher who go to seminary merely to obtain a degree. Can they preach filled by Holy Ghost ?

3. Must not be cunning (2 : 3)

A good preacher will not use tricky words and impure motives to gain souls. It is not a matter of increasing the number of membership. The Apostle John says it very plainly “No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”(John 6 : 44). It is not your Church mission or vision.

4. A God pleaser (2 : 4)

A good preacher pleases God not the Crowd. By raising the voice and changing the tone of speaking does not make a preacher good. Preaching the truth on divorce and remarriage, decency of dress, shoes and other unpopular subjects will likely please few men, but preaching the whole counsel of God will please the One we should desire to please. “Am I  now trying to in the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? “For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

5. Avoiding Flattery (2 : 5)

While it is true that Paul frequently used sincere praise and commendation in his teaching efforts, he never resorted to empty flattery that appealed to a man’s pride. Never forget that the gospel must first humble a man before he can be exalted. Proper teaching will show a person that the church does not need him, but rather, he desperately needs the Lord.

6. Not Covetous (2:5)

The apostle Paul went to Thessalonica without money. Even though the Philippians send him some help, Paul still work on his own.  He simply does not want the Thessalonians to accuse him of covetousness. Today, preachers are well paid especially in Ainouno the Church. The Pastors may go through temptation to become flattering men pleasers unwilling to risk losing “financial support” because of controversial preaching. However, remember that good preaching will not be enough to get a covetous man into heaven (1 Cor. 6:9f).

7. Balanced

The sermons must be well balanced with strength, courage, boldness, etc. What we need are men who are able to blend the two. Remember that it was possible for the same apostle to claim boldness and yet admit to the gentleness of a nursing mother.  Boldness does not justify ugliness; gentleness does not necessitate weakness.

8. Giving Of Self (2:8f)

Why did the preaching of Paul and his companions have a great impact on so many towns? It may well have been the fact that Paul, Silas and Timothy offered more than the gospel – they offered themselves. If we would make those whom we seek to teach “dear to us” we would probably be more effective in our presentation. Preaching the gospel can never become simply a profession; it must be our very life itself. Our attitude must be: “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15).

9. Blameless In Conduct (2:10)

Many can offer firsthand testimony regarding the damage done to a church when a preacher (or any other teacher) does not live in a manner consistent with his teaching. Paul, Silas and Timothy may not have met with great success everywhere they preached, but their work was never destroyed by their own wickedness. Right or wrong, people always judge the conduct of preachers more strictly and we need to be careful lest we destroy the effectiveness of our preaching by careless conduct.  Preachers should also take a lesson from Paul and realize that they cannot teach their members to do things that they themselves are unwilling to do.

10. Behaving Like A Loving Father (2:10-12)

Like a father with his children, Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to walk properly before God. A good preacher teaches his members out of concern for them; he points out that obedience is for their own good. We must not be afraid to reprove and rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2), but it should be the kind of rebuke that a father concerned for the welfare of his children might offer. Let us make certain that when we reprove and correct, it is as one with fatherly love and not a vengeful malice.

Nowhere it is stated that a good preacher will be slained by the Holy Ghost while he or she is leading the worship. The preaching of the gospel is a great work and there is always a need for more men who will follow the example of Paul (who followed Jesus). May God help us to become brave, fearless, truthful and frank, but at the same time, loving and gentle.

A GOOD LEADER

A good leader knows what is happening. Not a single decision will be made without his or her knowledge.  A leader fails desperately if members make decision without the leader’s knowledge. It is better to give way to others to lead if you are unable to control or take charge of the group!

TITHE-TANIC CHURCH

As you know, Ainouno the Church is going to have their thnaksgiving service very soon.  Take your time and find out what the scripture says.

1 Timothy 5 : 8 says that if you fail to take care your family needs first, you have denied your faith and worse than an unbeliever! So, please be very sure that you have meet all your family financial obligations before putting your cash in the Tithe-Tanic envelopes.

Please don’t waste your hard earn money on tithing that is not biblical at all.

If you  want to follow the Old Law of tithing (which Jesus demolished on the Cross) then

1. you must be a circumcised Jew which you are not,
2. the Pastor have to be a Levi which he is not,
3. you need to tithe agricultural products which you can’t,
4. the Church has to be storehouse which it is not

They will tell you that Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. The scripture says that

1. Melchizedek never ever asked Abraham to tithe
2. Abraham tithe the spoils of the war and not his own property and
3. out of 175 years, Abraham tithed once and that’s all.

Jacob’s tithe was conditional. The condition is that he made a promise with God that he will tithe after God fullfill the promise. (Genesis : 28 : 11 – 22). The promise was fullfilled after twenty years. The warnings written in Malachi 3 : 8 – 10 is for the Levitical Priest and the nation of Israel, not for the gentiles.

If you read Act 15, there was a sharp dispute between some men from Judea and the apostles regarding the circumcision of the gentiles. The apostles lead by the Holy Ghost came to this conclusions. Only four restrictions will be placed on the gentiles like you and me.

1. don”t eat blood,
2. don”t eat animals killed by strangulation,
3. don”t eat food that is sacrificed to idols and
4. don’t sleep around outside of marriage.

The council of apostles has an opportunity to ask the gentiles like you and me to tithe but they did not. Do you think that the Holy Ghost did not remind them ? No my friend, we are New Testaments Christians living in the Grace of Jesus Christ. Circumcision and tithing is simply not required by the Holy Ghost. It is the Tithe-Tanic Church which desperately need your tithe and not your circumcision. Tithe-Tanic Church simply cannot pick and choose part and partial of the Mosaic Law and impose it on the members. For your information, there are 613 Mosaic Law. Think and decide wisely before tithing. John 8 : 32 says “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

RECIPE FOR A LONG SERVICE

If anyone intend to  have a long Church Service, try to follow what Ainouno the Church do.

1. have a long worship session repeating the same song two or three times in different speed,
2. read the Bible in the same  language twice,
3. have a reality show such as “special song” in between the service,
4. have a long and lengthy sermon repeating the same point again and again,
5. at the end of the sermon, play a video clip for ten minutes in a language not understood by many.

If all the above fails, read and explain the announcements line by line.

THE LITTLE CHILDREN

As New Testaments Christians, we are living in the grace of Christ. We are not in the bondage of any old laws and practices.  Why is the Sunday School harping on the issue of waring shoes in the Church. Don’t they know that God does not look at the outward appearance such as what a child wear but rather the heart of the child?

1 Samuel 16:7

7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Why is the Sunday School creating a bondage for Children to come to Church or Sunday School? Why do they choose to harp on an issue that is not Biblical at all ? If they don’t know know, let us teach them the basic.

The Little Children and Jesus Matthew 19 : 13 – 14

¹³Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Take note that Jesus did not talk to the little children petty little things like what they have to wear to be in the kingdom of heaven. He simply blessed them regardless of who they are and what they wear.

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Matthew 18 : 1 – 6

⁵And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. ⁶But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus is very serious about what we teach the little children. The Sunday School teacher who create a bondage on the litte children shall have a millstone hanged around his or her neck and be thworn into the sea.

WHAT IS THE TITHE FOR ?

Members are already tithing Levitical tithes.  Why should they (members) be asked to pay extra to help the needy families? What is the Church doing with the tithe ? Managing business and fix deposit to earn interest ?

HOW TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING

The Bible has numerous passage where the people of God express their thanks to God. These thanksgiving is normally accompanied by burnt sacrifice as mentioned in Leviticus 3 : 5  ”And Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.”

The other kind of thanks giving  is by sacrifice of praise –  Hebrews 13:15 says: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name”.

Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local Indians did participate, this “first Thanksgiving” was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when President Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since. The Bible never ever suggest that a day in a year should be designated and celebrated as “Thanksgiving Sunday”

In short, thanksgiving was merely a social gathering where people wine and dine with their family and friends. It’s nice to have families around us to celebrate our hard work and success through out the year.  All we need to do is to gather as one large family in our own house, have a party and say thanks to God in our own way. Remember that you are the “Royal Preist” (1 Peter 2 : 9)

The book of Deuteronomy clearly specify to us how to celebrate our hard work. Deuteronomy 14: 22 – 23 “22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.”

I like the way verse 23 concludes, “so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.” We learn to revere the LORD by “eating the tithe”.  It simply means that we thank God by celebrating our hard work.  Satan has deceptively snatched this kind of happiness in families through an institution known as the “Church”.  To celebrate Thanksgiving, we have to sit in the Church for three long hours and listen to boring melodramatic worship and a sermon without substance.

Then, we have to put our hard earned money in a specially designed envelope and pledge it to the Church.  To ensure that everybody pledge, one by one have to walk out from the pew to the front of the alter to place the pledge on the special tray guarded by the angels of Lucifer.  Everything in the Church today is purely about collecting money effectively. What kind of  Thanksgiving is this? To me it is day time robbery.

This year, I strongly suggest that you stay away from the institution known as the Church, wine and dine with your family using your hard earned money as stated in Deuteronomy 14 : 22 – 23. That is what the Lord, your God has commanded you to do. Don’t be conned by the Church.

SCALED-DOWN CELEBRATIONS

The Star news paper (page N8) – Scaled-down celeberations for N-day events due to current economic slump. Hope that Ainouno the Church will not spent tithers money over extravagantly for Christmas celebrations.

THE MAKING OF

As an ordinary Church member, people don’t like to see “the making of Worship Service” every Sunday. Like the olden days, as you come in the Church, let say five minutes before the Service, every thing is ready and waiting for the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is nobody walking up and down, no PA testing, all musical instruments tested and ready and the Choir march in with pride for the introit. Somehow, all the musicians, choir members, Pastors and Worshipers have to meet for a short briefing and prayer in the  Choir room. What to brief ? Mainly what happened last week. Honest remark such as good, bad or ok. Complaints if any. Petty little things like the drum came in four lines late for introit and many more. Keep in mind that this is not a discussion. Strictly no question and answer session. It is a time where members just listen to leaders. The main reason is only to create awareness and that’s about it. Worship is a very serious business. If the players cannot come in twenty minutes earlier for briefing and prayer, simply get rid of them. I am sharing this this because I happen to see one of such briefing session taking place in an international hyper market just before the change of shift.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Again please be reminded that the Leviticus tithe is collected to help the aliens, the fatherless and the widows. You cannot simply push the problem to the government. Let the government help them, no problem in that but the Church cannot wash hand. Where is your obligation ?

It’s good to have Benevolent fund. It seems to aid education and business and not to help the aliens, the fatherless and the widows.  I don’t know which part of the Scripture the Church refers to become a Business Development Manager using tithers money.