“We are from God; the one who knows God heeds us. Whoever is not from God does not heed us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

(1 John 4:6)

God has privileged me with opportunities to preach to His people for just over three decades at this point in my life. I have served as pastor of several congregations, and I have spent many years providing pulpit supply either for congregations who have no pastor of their own or whose pastor is away or on vacation. What never ceases to intrigue me is the response that people have to a sermon preached. Sometimes the response is a polite, “Thank you for the Word, pastor.” Sometimes the response is more academic: “I learned a lot about x — fill in the blank.”

What really intrigues me, though, is when people complain that the preaching hits too close to home and is not what the people were hoping to hear. For instance, I have had congregation members tell me, “Pastor, why are you always so negative about this sin or that sin?” and I have also had people say things like, “Pastor, life is hard; when I come to church I just want to hear things that will encourage me.” Indeed, the scriptures do encourage in their proper place. Yet, the Scriptures are also quick to rebuke us for the inherent sin to which we cling.

It seems that, when it comes to hearing a sermon, many people would rather have a pep talk than to encounter the Truth. This reality strikes me as odd because we wouldn’t expect the same response in any other context. When we take our car to the mechanic because the engine is making strange noises or is stalling out at inopportune times, we don’t expect the mechanic to tell us, “Just ignore that knocking sound; it will be fine.” No, we want to know what is wrong with the car and what needs to be done to fix it. When we go to the doctor, we don’t expect the doctor to dismiss our symptoms and tell us how wonderful our life is; we expect the doctor to accurately diagnose our problems and offer a remedy that will return us to health. Why, then, would we want a sermon we hear to do anything less?

Arguably, there are a lot of reasons behind this. The church tends to take a low view of sin as if it were not the cancer to our soul that it is. Many churches tend to pursue a style of worship that entertains, not worship that edifies. Such an attitude may attract attendees, but it does not attract mature believers who want a steady diet of the meat of God’s Word rather than mashed potatoes that need little energy to digest.

More importantly, Truth is more important to God than trivialities and pleasant promises of prosperity or comfort. And worship is first and foremost about God. Everything we do should and indeed, must, reflect divine priority. Worship is not designed to make us feel good; it is designed to honor our Creator and shape us into the image of Christ our Redeemer. If it does not do this, it is false worship and might as well be offered to one of the many Ba’als of this world. Preachers, remember that your call is to preach Truth. People, remember that one of the marks of True Faith is your willingness to submit to the Truth as God faithfully lays forth in Scripture and strive to live it out.