When the minister enters the sacred desk to speak to the people, he should have for them a living message from the living God. If he has such a message, he need offer no apologies for giving it; but if not, it were better to hold his peace. If he would move others, the minister must have a message that has stirred his own soul. It must stand forth so vividly that the speaker will be forgotten. Self must sink out of sight, that the truth of the message may shine forth in all its glory, for the minister is but the instrument through which the living message is to be given. It is the beautiful flower that is to attract attention, not the vase of clay.
The minister is a man with a living burn its way into the inner recesses book. He handles the living word. The Bible is not merely a book among books, nor is it merely the best among books, but it is the living book. Men may write true books, they may write good books, but God alone can write a living book. It is this living book with its living message that the minister is to present to the people. His own words will avail but little. The authority for his message must come from the pages of that living book. In vain would he preach to the dead in yonder graveyard. They cannot hear his voice. But there is a voice that they will hear,—the voice of the Son of God, who is the Word. The minister should preach that word. He should get his message from that Book.
The minister should make his prefaces and introductions short and simple. His heavenly message is the important thing. It is divine truth that should be presented. He should aim at such a mark, and hit it. Then he should fire another broadside. He should pack his sermons. He should make his words like bullets. He should send his living message home to the hearts of the people, and let it of the soul.
The minister should not shout, nor should he present his message in an irritating way. It is not noise that is needed, nor the empty chatter of the monkey tribe. Empty wagons rattle the most and empty vessels ring the loudest. The minister's words should flow forth from a full heart, not from an empty head. If he must thunder forth his message, he should not do so out of an empty cloud. Not excitement but burning earnestness will thaw the frosty heart and warm the sin-chilled soul.
The minister should deliver his message, but he should not tire out himself and everybody else. He should leave his people fresh and eager for more. He should not continue till the beginning of his sermon is buried by the middle, and it in turn is forgotten before the end. He should not spoil the appetite of his hearers by surfeiting his congregation, but close while they are still with open hearts drinking in the life-giving words.
The minister must not rely upon his own wisdom or learning in giving his message. Of himself he is nothing. He must be connected with God. When this connection is broken, he is shorn of power. All the eloquence he can summon will then be as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Souls are not converted by eloquent sermons. The wire is only a conductor through which the electric current flows; of itself it has no light nor power. Unless connected with the power house, the wire is "dead." The minister must be a living wire, a conductor for the Spirit of God to bring light and power to the people. He is weak, but a powerful message should flow from his lips. It is better to be a small man with a big message, than a big man with a small message.
While teaching frail humanity, the minister must lay hold upon the arm of Omnipotence. Thus he becomes a connecting link between the sin-pardoning God and sinful man. His is an awful responsibility, for he stands between the living and the dead. He must not speak his own words, but the words of the Eternal. He must to a mouthpiece, faithfully presenting God's message. He must be in touch with heaven. Herein lies his power. He must know the way to the mercy seat, where he can receive the infilling of the Spirit, that he may go forth to minister to the needs of others. Morning by morning he must come from the very presence of God to work for perishing souls. He must be anointed for his mission if he would succeed in his work. He must be a man of prayer if he is to be a man of power.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
