Matthew 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”

The gospel should be preached by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit with the words of Scripture.  The four main components involved in preaching are, (1) God the Holy Spirit, (2) The Word of God, (3) The Preacher, and (4) The Sinner.  The most important aspect being the Holy Spirit, for without Him neither the Bible nor the preacher has power.

Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 3:6 (NLT), “He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”  Therefore, the ability to be ministers of the Gospel and the life of new covenant both come from the Holy Spirit.

Here is a basic outline on how to preach the Gospel, (1) The preacher should ask the Holy Spirit to give them a heart for the lost and lead them in prayer for sinners to be saved, 2 Timothy 2:1; (2) The preacher should also eagerly desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and be used in His gifts (like Jesus in the above passage with healing and deliverance), 1 Corinthians 14:1; (3) The preacher should read the Word of God and be taught by the Lord, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

(4) The preacher then should be led by the Holy Spirit to find a lost sheep to preach to, Luke 19:10; (5) When the preacher encounters the sinner they should make a genuine attempt to build a friendship them (small talk, share a meal, express shared values), Matthew 11:19; (6) Then the preacher should be sensitive to hear what Scriptures and spiritual gifts to use when preaching like Jesus did with the woman at the well, John 4:1-26; (7) The preacher should end the time of sharing the gospel with an invitation for the sinner to pray and accept Jesus; and lastly, (8) After the time of preaching the preacher should disciple the new believer (if they accepted Jesus) or pray that they will accept Jesus at another time (if they rejected Jesus).

Certainly, the “how” of preaching can change from person to person and the “methods” can come spontaneously from the Holy Spirit.  As a result, the gospel preacher should always say and do what the Holy Spirit leads them to say and do.

Reflection

Do you believe the Holy Spirit can use you to preach the Gospel?

Action

  1. Develop a consistent pattern of daily prayer and study of God’s Word.
  2. Eagerly desire to be used in the gifts of the Holy Spirit- they are the greatest tools for evangelism.
  3. Be led by the Holy Spirit to preach and lead people to Jesus Christ.