I’m back in Manila and back online after a two-week trip.
While reading The One Year Book of Christian History this morning, I was struck by the power of preaching, for better and sometimes for worse.
The book had a long quote from “the most effective sermon of all time” preached by Pope Urban II more than 900 years ago, but still remembered and acted on today. Perhaps no sermon ever preached has done so much to shape modern history, except for sermons preached by Jesus himself.
Imagine a sermon that was not even available on a podcast, still having an impact 900 years later. Most sermons today don’t have an impact ninety minutes later.
In the sermon, Pope U2 (that’s Urban the 2nd, not the Irish rockers or country singing cousin Keith) used a brilliantly evil combination of racism, pride, greed, exaggeration, heresy, hatred, and fear to rally the “Christians” to take up arms and to go battle against the accursed Turks to. . .
. . . avenge these wrongs . . . if you would save your souls, then come forward to the defense of Christ. Labor for everlasting reward . . . you will earn the right to absolution from all your sins, and heaven is assured to any who may fall in this worthy undertaking . . . the wealth of your enemies is yours. . .
This sermon started what was probably the lowest point in church history—The First Crusade.
Those Crusaders were doers of the word. Problem was the “word” they responded to was twisted and distorted by the preacher.
I wish modern believers would be doers of the word like those Crusaders who were willing to sacrifice all to obey what they thought was God’s will.
But first I wish they would be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11 who, . . . were more of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
May God make us all the kind of believers who eagerly receive and act on the Word, but also who study and examine the word daily.
How do you know if the pastor or TV preacher is preaching truth? By examining the Scriptures yourself daily. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, and he will lead and guide you into all truth as you study and obey God’s word.