Dear Sovereign Redeemer and other friends,

I am finishing up “The Passionate Preaching of Martyn Lloyd-Jones” by Steve Lawson, and Lawson addresses the relationship between the essential help of the Holy Spirit in preaching and the great need for the preacher to exert himself in preparation. In other words, if the preacher will be helped by the Holy Spirit, why study? Lawson writes:

“He [Lloyd-Jones] believed the Spirit is personally involved in the preacher’s study just as He is when the preacher stands in the pulpit. Lloyd-Jones added, ‘The right way to look upon the unction of the Spirit is to think of it as that which comes upon the preparation [of the sermon]… Careful preparation, and the unction of the Holy Spirit, must never be regarded as alternatives but as complementary to each other.’ The Spirit who authored the Scripture is the Spirit who must illumine the preacher’s understanding of it. At the same time, the Spirit must enable the expositor to deliver these truths in the act of preaching. The Spirit must be present in each aspect of preaching, from the study to the pulpit… Lloyd-Jones believed God chooses to bless solid sermon preparation, not the lack of it.” (pgs 164/165)

Helpful. As I have said many times, “Pray for the preacher. A prayer for the preacher is a prayer for yourself!”

Your brother,

Jason