A Proper Preacher who Brings Prospering

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.                    (Ezra 5:1-2 )

It ought to be the heart’s desire of every God-called preacher worth his weight in salt, that he be a proper preacher with a prospering ministry. It is not that he desires to have self-promotion or greatness attributed to his name, but rather that he effectively point people to Christ and witness their lives prospered as they respond correctly to his message.

The preacher does not preach about himself nor promote himself, but rather he preaches the message that the people need to hear. He is not in it for popularity. He recognizes the unworthiness of himself and the worthiness of the one of whom he preaches. John the Baptist was not very popular in where he lived, what he ate, what he wore, and even the hardness of his preaching, yet people flocked to hear him. He was a God called preacher.

A preacher recognizes the spiritual condition of the people. He is very much in tune with keen discernment as to what God has asked, what the people are doing, and what be the condition of the hearts. He recognizes the lack of obedience and faithfulness to the Lord. He recognizes that the work of God is not moving forward and the people of God are at a standstill, thus he preaches.

His preaching has a certain aim. He aims for the heart to bring conviction, so that faith and obedience to the Lord may be the result. One preacher said he aims to use the Word of God as the chess piece to place the king in check mate so that the hearer has no recourse but to get right with God. Of course, without the power of the Lord, nothing in his preaching will take hold on the hearers. And so, he seasons his preaching with prayer. His preaching must be seasoned with prayer so that it may be savored by the people.  

Such was the ministry of two of God’s chosen prophets during the return from captivity. Haggai and Zechariah, building prophets, preached to God’s people a message of encouragement and hope in a time when the building of the walls of the city of Jerusalem had come to a standstill. Adversaries of God’s people had written letters to the Persian King Artaxerxes telling of the rebellion and sedition of this great city in years past, who in turn commanded the ceasing of the work. Multiple years pass by, and these two prophets recognized that the people were not prospering while God’s house was lying in waste and God’s people were daily working on their own dwelling places. It was time to preach. Preach they did and in the name of the Lord, the work began afresh.

A few encouraging thoughts can be found about these two preachers which must be true of every preacher:

1. The preacher should preach in the Name of the Lord to the people—vs. 1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them…

• The preacher does not preach from His own platform or authority. He preaches the preaching which the Lord alone bids him. Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. (Jonah 3:2 )
• He comes in the Name of the Lord and in the power of His might. This is the word of the LORD unto Zerrubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
• He preaches as the oracles of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 4:11)

 

2. The Preacher should be with the People—vs. 2 Then rose up Zerrubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God…

• The preacher did not preach the message and then return to his chamber to idly please himself. He was seen preaching in the pulpit, but then present with the people.
• The preacher does not rise above the people as a “man of the cloth”. He must pray the same way, fight the same battles, and trust God by faith just as the person in the pew. He is made of the same medal as the carpenter or block layer. He struggles with the same sins as the people because he has the same old man.
• He is no greater in spiritual standing before the people; it is only that God’s calling has been different upon His life.

 

3. The Preacher should help the people—vs. 2 …And with them were the prophets of God helping them…

• The preacher must involve himself in the work of preaching, but he must also see that he serves alongside the people.
• God’s preaching is not just to motivate the people to up, move, and serve the Lord, but must first impact the servant of the Lord. It should be the preacher’s duty to first preach every message to himself and to see that he is spiritually prospering before he preaches that very message to his people.
• Preaching will be greater received when the preacher practices the preaching in the same trenches with the people. If he preaches to pick up a trowel and hammer, he must be the first to take hold of one when he descends from the pulpit.

What was the nature of the preaching of these “building” prophets…

Consider your ways… (Haggai 1:5)

I am with you, saith the LORD… (Haggai 1:13)

Yet now be strong…all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work… (Haggai 2:4)

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine… (Haggai 2:8)

From this day will I bless you… (Haggai 2:19)

Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts… (Zechariah 1:3)

I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it… (Zechariah 1:16)

For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her… (Zechariah 2:5)

For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye…Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD… (Zechariah 2:8, 10)

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts… (Zechariah 4:6)

For who hath despised the day of small things? (Zechariah 410)

Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD… (Zechariah 6:12)

Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to ever one grass in the field… (Zechariah 10:1)

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD… (Zechariah 14:20)

What of all this preaching? What happens when God’s men are stirred about the condition of the people, preach in the Name of the Lord, are present with the people, and are laboring alongside of them?

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. (Ezra 6:14)