Words of Grace 8/5

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

In a sermon on the second coming of Christ, Curtis Hutson tells the story of a preacher who preached a series of messages on Bible prophecy on the radio. During that series he kept on referring to his “prophetic” messages.

One day a lady who listened to him on the radio recognized him on the street. She walked up to him and said,” O preacher, I really do enjoy hearing you on the radio.” and then she thanked him for his” pathetic” messages.

Commenting on what the woman said, Hutson points out that some” prophetic” messages may indeed be” pathetic,” especially when preachers set dates. They try to pinpoint the very hour of Christ’s return, which no one can know.

“Prophetic” preaching is the teaching of bible prophecy, “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

Peter, writing in his second epistle, states that we share “a more sure word of prophecy.” It is as a light shining in a dark place. (1:19)

“Prophetic” preaching brings the light of Christ into the darkest of hearts. “Pathetic” pitiful preaching keeps the hearers in darkness.

“Come to the Light, ‘tis shining for thee.”