Romans 10:15, “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The role of the preacher is to be called, filled with the Holy Spirit, trained and sent out to win souls and make new disciples.
All disciples are to be gospel preachers; therefore, all disciples are to be called, filled, trained and sent out to win souls for Jesus!
Consider the following things to be an effective gospel preacher; first, we need to accept our general calling and specific calling. The general calling for everyone to preach the gospel comes at the same time a person is called to be a disciple of Christ. For example when Jesus first called Peter and his brother Andrew He said, “Come, follow me… and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19).
People’s specific callings from God pertain to the exact place He wants them to go. Certainly we are to preach everywhere we go, but we are also called to be preach the gospel in specific places. For example, in Acts 16:9 Paul received a vision to go and preach to a specific people in a certain area, “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’” We should be open to where God is leading us to preach his Word.
Second, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Jesus taught in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Therefore, every preacher is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit just like the first disciples were in Acts 2:4.
Third, the preacher needs to invest in being trained and prepared to effectively preach the gospel. Just like a soldier wouldn’t go into battle without proper training and the guidance from experienced leaders, the same is true with evangelism training. The disciple must undergo teaching, on hands training and evaluation by godly leaders. This kind of training is exemplified in the three years Jesus spent with His disciples instructing, releasing and correcting them (Luke 10:1).
Fourth, the local church with their blessing and support should send out the gospel-preaching disciple. Luke records in Acts 13:2-3, “2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” As a result, there shouldn’t be any “rogue disciples” in the church, but rather submitted servants accountable to the doctrines and practices of the elders.
Let us all receive our calling, filling, training and be sent out to be world changers, roof breakers and history makers for Jesus!
Reflection
Have you been called, filled, trained and sent out by your local church to preach the gospel?
Action
- If you haven’t joined a good church yet, pray for God to send you to one.
- Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in unlearned languages if you haven’t already.
- Go through the proper steps of your local church to be trained and sent out as a gospel preacher! A.W. Tozer said, “Only a disciplecan make a disciple.”
