Immersed in the Word

The preacher who preaches as one who buys into the reality of  "Thus says the Lord"  is one who does not just dabble in the Word from time to time, but one who lives immersed in the Word.  After years and years of preaching it becomes an easy thing for the preacher to begin to see the Word as a sermon starter rather than the definition given in Hebrews 4:12:  "...the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword..."  One of the real temptations for any preacher is the one which enables the preacher to live comfortably in a world empty of a ongoing personal encounter with the Scripture.    

If any preacher intends to preach the Word of God for the people of God, living immersed in the Scripture a required spiritual discipline.  While any preacher can pick a text and manufacture a sermon, the preaching is never the same as the preaching which comes as a part of the overflow of a heart constantly being filled with the Word of God as well as the divine helping which comes from the Holy Spirit.   

Preaching is hard work.  It is disciplined work.  In some preaching circles there is talk of Saturday Night Specials, or last minute sermons.  And while I have preached too many of those, they often were more about desperation than allowing the Word God had given to grow in my heart until it was ready to be poured out in the study and pulpit.  It is that constant life in the Word which give the preacher's sermon power and which also enables the preacher to stand and speak in behalf of God.