Why God Still Sends Preachers
Preaching isn’t an outdated method. It’s God’s chosen one.
A Chinese farmer, nearly blind from cataracts, stumbled upon a Christian medical mission. The missionary doctor told him he could help him see again. After the surgery, the farmer was amazed at his restored sight and left the mission full of joy and purpose.
Seven days later, the doctor was finishing breakfast and peering through his kitchen window when he noticed the farmer approaching — holding the front end of a long rope. Behind him, in a single-file line, were several blind men and women gripping the rope and following him step by step.
The farmer had gone home and told everyone he could about what had happened to him. He couldn’t explain the physiology of the eye. He didn’t know the technical details of the surgery. He could only say, with excitement and conviction, that he had been blind and now he could see. And that was enough. They came because someone who had been healed told them where to find the Doctor.
And this is why we preach.
Those of us who once were blind but have received healing by the hand of the Great Physician have a message to take to this world — a world full of blind men, women, and children. If we do not tell them, they may never find the Doctor on their own.
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God’s Chosen Method
In an age of podcasts, social media, AI-generated content, and a thousand other ways to distribute information, it’s tempting to wonder whether preaching still matters. Whether standing in front of a group of people and declaring the Word of God is somehow outdated — a relic of a less sophisticated era.
It’s not. Preaching is God’s chosen method for reaching people. Not a method. The method.
When the Israelites rebelled and teetered on the brink of apostasy, God sent them preacher after preacher. When the Ninevites were facing destruction, God sent them a preacher. When David sinned and found himself at odds with God, God sent him a preacher. When Israel needed to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah, God sent them a preacher in the wilderness. When Cornelius — a good man, a praying man, a man hungry for more of God — sought God continually for answers, God sent him a preacher.
God can and does speak through His Word, through a still small voice, through circumstances and situations. But when it comes to delivering the gospel, the pattern is unmistakable: God sends preachers.
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The Catalyst for Faith
Paul wrote to the Romans that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That’s not just theology. That’s the mechanism. True biblical faith does not exist where the Word of God is not being spoken, taught, or preached. People will never believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior unless they first hear the promise of redemption through the declaration of God’s Word.
Think about that. Preaching isn’t just one tool in the toolbox. It’s the spark. It’s what ignites faith in the hearts of the hearers. Without it, faith has nothing to grab hold of.
When the faith of your congregation is low — preach the Word. When families are falling apart — preach the Word. When young people are wavering — preach the Word. When a miracle is needed and people are struggling to believe — preach the Word.
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The Facilitator of Salvation
Since we are saved by grace through faith, and preaching ignites faith, then preaching is the vehicle God uses to bring salvation to people. It introduces the sinner to the Savior. It persuades the searching heart to respond.
Look at Cornelius. He saw a vision. He heard the Lord tell him to send for Peter. He gathered his relatives and friends and waited. And when Peter arrived and began to preach, something happened that Peter himself didn’t plan: while he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who was listening.
Not after the altar call. Not after the closing prayer. While Peter was still preaching. The Word did what the Word does.
As preachers of the gospel, we hold in our hands the keys to unlock prison doors. The preached Word of God can accomplish more in a few minutes than counseling can in a few years.
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We Preach for Effect
The message the early disciples preached was not an invitation to think about a few things or meditate on some interesting ideas. It was a message aimed at change. That’s still the goal. We don’t preach to fill time. We don’t preach to impress. We preach to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be.
Much of what the Bible teaches runs against the grain of culture. That shouldn’t surprise us, and it shouldn’t make us apologetic. But it also shouldn’t make us combative. We’re not looking for fights — we’re looking for transformation. There’s a difference between being bold and being belligerent. Let the message do the cutting, not your attitude.
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The Farmer and the Rope
I keep coming back to that farmer. He didn’t have credentials. He didn’t have training. He didn’t have eloquence. What he had was an experience with the Doctor and an urgency to tell people about it.
That’s the heart of preaching. Technique matters — and we’ll spend plenty of time developing it. But underneath every method, every outline, every carefully crafted illustration, there has to be a person who was once blind and can now see. A person who knows the Doctor personally. A person holding a rope and saying, “Follow me. I know the way.”
Paul asked the Romans a series of questions that still echo: How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
The answer hasn’t changed. They can’t.
God still sends preachers. And if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance He sent you.
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This is where it starts.
If preaching is God’s chosen method, then doing it well is one of the most important things we can pursue. The Clear Preaching email course walks you through the full journey — from understanding the call, to preparing and constructing a sermon, to delivering it with clarity and conviction.
Start the free course at clearpreaching.com/free-email-course.
