Faith But Without Patience

How shall they hear without a preacher

?A preacher, in Scripture, is a herald—a man who stands in the open and announces the King’s word with weight. He does not own the message. He publishes it. And “hear” means more than sitting under sound. It means to take the Word in until it can produce faith.

Without such men, transformation stays shallow and the revival we already taste cannot come into its full strength. The greatest need of this hour is not more methods or music, but men anointed by the Holy Spirit who will preach the whole counsel of God with fire and love.

Look at Acts.

Their preaching brought conviction. Multitudes were added—not as casual attenders, but as people devoted to the apostles’ doctrine and to Christ. Even those chosen for daily care were men full of the Holy Ghost. This was not a program. It was the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and they risked their lives for His name. The same word that saved also stirred opposition, because truth exposes sin and demands an answer.

Listening to men preach the Word with power has marked me, changed me, and deepened my hunger for holiness.

God has not changed. “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psalm 68:11). From the throne the word is still given. He still looks for a company who will announce it with zeal.

What happens when that company is missing? Amos warned of a famine “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11). Buildings may fill with entertainment, yet God has chosen “the foolishness of preaching” to save them that believe (1 Corinthians 1:21). When performance crowds out proclamation, people starve and the church loses power to change a culture.

Paul said, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” Jesus said the harvest is plenteous and the labourers few—so pray the Lord of the harvest to send them. Tozer saw churches becoming poor theaters while few dared raise a voice. Some still think we have enough preaching and only need better programs.

This hour asks for a certain kind of man: one who hates sin with fire and loves the sinner with kindness.

Will we settle for entertainment, or cry out for heralds—truth like an arrow, hearts full of love, lips filled by the Spirit—until mouths are stopped and many call on the name of the Lord?

Aaron Beiler