Ezra 6:14
“And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”
There was a key element that stirred Ezra to rebuild the temple and finish it. Among all the attacks, setbacks and demanding work, there was something that stirred him to continue until he finished. Preaching was the key element that made this happen. The verse above says that “they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.” The prophet’s preaching is what stirred these people to rebuild and finish the great work. In this verse, you find five benefits that preaching will have in your life.
First, preaching always stirs to build and not to maintain. They could have kept the status quo and simply cleaned the temple, but preaching stirred them to build. One of the great motivators in anyone’s life will be preaching. You will always know if you are listening to good preaching by how much it stirs you to build something. You will never leave good preaching without being stirred to do something. Good preaching will blast you out of a mediocrity mindset to a building mindset.
Second, preaching turns a dead and broken work into a thriving and prospering work. It was preaching that caused Ezra and the people to remove the rubble and build. The only hope for a dead church or a broken life is preaching. Programs and seminars never build a thriving work. Only preaching will light the fire in the hearts of a dead church or broken life and cause them to prosper. If you are going to turn a dead church or broken life around, you will only do it through real preaching.
Third, preaching keeps you going when facing the obstacles between the start and the finish. I love the phrase in the verse above, “And they builded…” There will come a point in any work when it becomes mundane, but preaching is what turns the mundane work into an exciting work. It is preaching that will keep you going through the monotonous. You will never make it through the humdrum period of any work without good preaching.
Fourth, preaching causes you to stay close to God’s commandments. They rebuilt the temple “according to the commandment of the God.” Everyone needs to be reminded of what we should and should not do, and good preaching will be that reminder. The good preacher will not be concerned if his preaching offends someone, but he will be concerned with pleasing God and keeping the people living according to the Word of God. You will never stay close to God’s commandments without staying under preaching.
Fifth, preaching causes you to finish what you start. Ezra didn't just start the job, but he finished it. Good preaching will stress the importance of finishing what you start. One big reason you need to hear preaching regularly is because it will remind you to keep going until you finish.
Never undervalue the power of preaching. Don't miss one preaching service. One of these five elements will occur every time you hear preaching. If you want to live a prosperous life, it will only happen with the help of preaching.