Message AND Testimony Not One Without The Other

A preacher must remember that his calling is different from every other calling in life; his personality has to be submerged in his message (cf. John 3:30) (auxanomai – to increase grow spread vs. elattoomai – make less, cause something to have less). An orator has to work with men and enthuse them; a New Testament preacher has to come upon men with a message they resent and will not listen to at first. The Gospel comes in with a backing of Divine authority and an arrestment which men resent. There is something in every man that resents the interference of God. Before a man can be saved, the central citadel of his being has to be stormed and taken possession of by the Holy Spirit. It is easy to tell men they must be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost; but we have to live amongst men and show them what a life filled with the Holy Ghost ought to be. A preacher has to come upon men with a message and a testimony that go together. The great pattern for every witness is the abiding Witness, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came down on men from above; He stood on our level, with what men never had, in order to save men.

-Oswald Chambers Approved Unto God

No easy task set before us, may my testimony match Christ’s message!