ARTS OF PREACHING AND TEACHING

“PREACH THE WORD! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all LONG-SUFFERING AND TEACHING.”
2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV)

• One of the things that can help you build a strong and virile church or ministry is preaching and teaching of the Word—good and edifying messages.

• A minister should always prepare good messages for the people he Ministers to regularly—the church.
• You have a responsibility:
  As a minister,if you cannot prepare and deliver good messages, you may lose your members to someone who takes time to prepare good and delicious messages for his congregation.

• Preparing and delivering good messages is an art and has to be learnt. It is an ability or a skill that you can develop with training and practice.

• When you start out in the ministry as a minister, you may start by preaching or teaching another persons' messages, but God would want you to change, grow in developing your own messages, as time goes on.
  ~ God would want you to put your thoughts down, He wants you to write for keeps, the thoughts He gives you: "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this" (Revelation 1:19).
  ~ He communicates through thoughts; thus, those thoughts given you by God should be put together as teachings, to train your people.

• Pay attention to your thoughts

• A minister must have a close walk with God. All he does should be an offshoot of his private life and the time spent with God.
• If you do not have a close fellowship with God, it will be difficult for you to receive messages from Him.
• A minister who lives independently of God or lives a carefree life cannot receive godly thoughts that can be developed into messages for the people.
• When God is in your sleeping and waking thoughts, you will have flow of thoughts to develop to messages.
• If your messages are rich and edifying, you tend to attract more souls—people who will like to listen to you.
• You will also attract souls who are starved spiritually, who are longing for good spiritual food.
• Every strayed soul would find themselves in your fold.God would equally use you to feed other sheep which are not well fed spiritually where they are.

• How to create and develop good messages.

• Let God be in your thoughts always, and pray more in the language of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2; Jude 20).
• Learn how to hear God in every situation and circumstance, and be endeavoured to see God in every situation.
• Be sensitive, expectant, and be open minded to receive any message which God may want you to know in whatever happens around you (Jeremiah 18:1-6).
• God sent Jeremiah to the potter's house in order to learn one or two things, because He wanted to pass a message across to him.

1. "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
2. "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and THERE I WILL CAUSE YOU TO HEAR MY WORDS."
   Jeremiah 18:1,2 (NKJV)

• Things happening around you contain messages, lessons, that God would want you to learn and develop messages from.
• If you can learn from every circumstance, you will always have a word from the Lord. Jeremiah was sent to the potter's house, FOR God to pass a message across to him through what happened in the place (Jeremiah 18:3-6).

1. "Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.
2. And the vessel he made [was making] of clay was marred [ruined] in the hand of the potter; so, he made it again into another vessel, as it seems good to the potter to make.
3. Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
4. "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"
   Jeremiah 18:3-6 (NKJV)

• Read and study the Bible extensively, prayerfully and meditatively. Revelations come when you stay with the Word regularly (Joshua 1:8).
• Also, the books of other proven authors should be read meditatively, through it, God will open your understandings to receive insights on how to develop your own messages.The more you study the more you have revelations or insights.
• Pray for the revelation knowledge of God, that your eyes of understanding be opened, enlightened, and that He gives you the spirit of wisdom (Ephesians 1:17,18).

• You have to develop your skill in message delivery, for it is not enough to prepare a good message.Delivery of messages should be done properly.
~ One may prepare a good message but fail to deliver it properly, thus the purpose of the message is defeated.
~ A good message can be ruined by a minister’s poor delivery.

• You need to develop and grow in delivering of messages properly.

• Listen to articulated speakers, you learn usage of words through it.
  ~ Be master of your words and be yourself. Do not try to be like someone else, although you may learn from others, but your uniqueness should not be lost. God has chosen you because He want to use you the way you are, thus do not try to be like another person.
  ~ Speak clearly and audibly.Work on your English—you become good in the usage of English as you read and communicate with the language. It is a language, the more you use it in communicating, the better you become in the usage of it.

• Pray more in the Spirit and always ask the Holy Spirit to give you utterance. Ask God to give you supernatural wisdom, knowledge, and understanding (1 Corinthians 14:2).

• Manage stage fright properly.
  ~ Look at the people you are addressing, do not put your eyes down.
  ~ Let your gaze focus on a person who seems to pay most attention and seldom look at others intermittently.

• Be happy with what you put on.
  ~ If you are not pleased with the way you look, it may affect your composure on the altar.
  ~ Remember, the way you perceived yourself on the inside, is the way other people will see you. In other words, the way you see yourself is the way others will see you.

• Develop your vocabulary. Reading will increase your vocabulary. You also need to be conversant with your dictionary.
  ~ You need to have a wide vocabulary, both active and passive.This enables you to have more variety of words to use in the delivery of your messages. You will have enough words to buttress your points and to drive your points home.
  ~ Read versions of the Bible with today's English; books of proven authors; and subscribe to good magazines; and listen to articulated speakers.

• The truth is, you invest in yourself to be effective and effectual.If you spend your money on things that cannot contribute to your effectiveness; it will later show in your output, in the work you do.

• Money spent on developing yourself is not a waste, it is an investment—for you to have better results in your work.
• Your development makes you effective, productive, and more fruitful—you have better result in the works you do, your ministry. Remember, God has chosen you that you may be fruitful.

"You did not choose Me, BUT I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU THAT YOU SHOULD GO AND BEAR FRUIT, AND THAT YOUR FRUIT SHOULD REMAIN, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
John 15:16 (NKJV)

~ Buy books that can edify you.Visit bookshops often. Register in a library. And pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

• Self-development is important in the fulfilment of your God-given vision.

“BRING THE CLOAK that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—AND THE BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THE PARCHMENTS.”
2 Timothy 4:13 (NKJV)

• You will not be a disappointment to God and His kingdom in Jesus' name.
Peace!