Today's Expositor's Quote is from Bruce Milne's book The Message of John. He is commenting on John 12:44: "Jesus cried out, 'When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.'"
Preachers with cold hearts will never warm and awaken the consciences of their hearers. Preaching is more than delivering a message from God; it is delivering a message from God in a manner consistent with that content. The message concerns the fire of God’s love and the fire of his judgment and hence can be authentically proclaimed only by hearts kindled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. False emotionalism, and the unrealistic dramatisation of the message, do not honour the Lord and tend only to alienate non-Christians further. But there is a true engagement of the heart in preaching . . . which is stamped with sincerity and which is an authentic reflection of the heart of the God whose gospel we proclaim. God is looking today for preachers who like his Son will ‘cry out’.
Bruce Milne, The Message of John, (The Bible Speaks Today commentary series, InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 195.
[Is your heart kindled with the fire of the Holy Spirit? Is your manner of delivering the message consistent with its content? Lord! Make us into preachers who proclaim the truths of your Word not only with our tongues but with our bodies, our emotions, indeed, our entire lives -- Coty]
[Thanks to list member John Faris for suggesting this quote.]