CHRISTIANITY TODAY - Prophetic Preaching

Nobody likes to hear those dreaded words from the doctor: You need surgery. It always comes as a shock. Many of us respond by shopping around for a second opinion, but that usually doesnt change reality: We have a problem and we need help. Someone needs to open the clogged arteries, remove the malignant tumor, repair the ligaments, or reset the broken bone.

On one level, those words often bring relief. We knew we had a problem. We knew we werent whole. So although a negative diagnosis wasnt what we wanted, the doctor was telling us what we needed to hear. Also, we know that our doctor has one ultimate agenda: to restore our long-term health. As a result, we allowand even expectour trusted physicians to speak the truth into our lives, even when its uncomfortable. Only an incompetent or uncaring doctor would avoid giving us accurate information about our health.

Its no different in our spiritual lives. We need honest, trustworthy doctors of the soul who will speak uncomfortable truths into our lives. Even after following Christ for many years, we still have hidden corners of diseasesecret sins, spiritual immaturity, and unhealed wounds. As the psalmist confessed, There is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin (Ps. 38:3). We can avoid and deny this spiritual disease for years until someone uses Gods Word, not as a weapon to bludgeon us, but as a scalpel to cut through our layers of excuses and evasions. It takes courage and compassion, but these trustworthy pastors speak the truth, identifying our sin, calling it by name, and then gently leading us to the One who can heal our souls.

That summarizes the ministry of prophetic preaching. This vital practice diagnoses the disease within us. Like a good doctor, prophetic preachers dont sugarcoat the truth; they dont ignore or minimize the painful verdict; and theyll declare what we need to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear. With confidence and courage theyll say, You have a problem. You can get a second opinion, but Ill tell you right now that theres only one treatmentthe gospel. By the authority of Gods Word, I can say that you need helpGods help. And by that same authority, Im here to proclaim that in Jesus life, death, and resurrection God is with you and for you. He is the Healer of your soul.

But prophetic preachers dont merely address individual or personal issues. At times they also must confront the broader social aspects to our spiritual unsoundnessinjustice, poverty, racism, sexual immorality, and false teaching. These larger issues also rupture wholeness and degrade people who bear Gods image and who are loved by Christ.

Our churches need bold, compassionate, Christ-centered, and Spirit-filled prophetic preaching. Unfortunately many preachers harbor negative attitudes toward prophetic preaching. (I know I did.) Its often viewed as a special or even odd calling thats reserved for just a few pastors. Sometimes it conjures up images of preachers who rail against contemporary culture while they make outlandish predictions about the future. Or, even more negatively, prophetic preachers sometimes get squeezed into one, narrow personality profile: theyre angry, loud, tactless people who want their listeners to feel ashamed, defeated, or offended.