When the wise Apostle wrote his protégé, encouraging him in his work of preaching, he reminded us all that personal integrity will gain a hearing for the truth. No one could possibly look down on Timothy's youthful lack of experience as long as he lived out a godly example of divine transformation in his personal speech, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12).

We live in the agonizing tension of not yet having reached perfection. It is painful to stand, so short of holiness, and call others to holiness. Regularly we sense the futility of our words. In those times we fall back on the assurance that God gives the words, and we merely serve as His voice.

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However, we cannot use this knowledge, that we are merely God's voice, as an excuse for disobedience. Our world will not demand perfection of us when it understands clearly the holiness of God and the sinfulness of every man. But they will demand an integrity of life that takes seriously the call to and promise of transformation.

We must stand before our age and testify with Wesley:

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast-bound in sin and nature's night.

Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose went forth and followed thee."

(And Can It Be That I Should Gain? by Charles Wesley).

We must say, "By God's grace, His truth has changed me. I now go His way. Will you join me?"

There are times when we speak the Words of God, not because we understand clearly and fully, not because we feel the burning of emotion, at that moment. But we speak the Words of God in faith because He is still forming us. In those moments, His glory shines through us — perhaps just a glimpse — but giving enlightenment to our understanding and warmth to our passion. Preaching in a missionary age must emerge as the overflow of a spiritual transformation that is personal. Preaching is Personal.

Seven Preaching is Applicational.

Not until our listeners have applied God's truth will our preaching accomplish its immediate goal. The Scriptures never stop short of obedience, merely expressing theological propositions as abstract truth. The Bible always applies truth, shows us how to infuse truth into our thinking, feeling, and doing.

However, our listeners do not readily sense its relevance. So an essential part of a preacher's task is demonstrating the Bible's application to life.

Although Luke was not trying to teach us how to preach, he captured this aspect of preaching by showing how Jesus masterfully took His listeners all the way through truth to application (Luke 10:30-37). When the subject of the day was, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus referred His listeners, first of all, to the Scriptures. "What is written in the law?" To the answer, "You shall love the Lord your God with your entire being and your neighbor as yourself," Jesus commended, "Right." And then added, "Do that, and you will live." But He didn't stop there. Evoking the question, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a story. His parable demonstrated who a neighbor is and what a neighbor does. But He didn't stop there. He asked His audience, "Who do you think, in my story, was the neighbor?" When the correct answer was given, Jesus didn't stop there. He continued, "Go and do likewise." Truth applied (see Adams, 1988, 9).