Don't Defeat Your Purpose: An Expository Guide for Preachers

By Dr. Shane Erxleben

Dear Reader,In this book, the Spirit of God led me to give instruction and understanding of being called to preach. Without this critical understanding could very well lead someone to do more damage than good, thus defeating their purpose of the call. The book begins by bringing complete attention to the preacher themselves to recognize the call of the Lord and progress through his process to build character and faith. The biggest focus is devoted to receiving the God-given message for his people, utilizing proper exegetical study to the Word, applying proper homiletics, provide current application of the Word to bring relativity, and always keep Christ and the cross at the center of it all. The book finishes up by demonstrating the need for the preacher to move aside and allow the Holy Spirit and the anointing to bring spiritual change in the people. Even though this book was dedicated as a guide for the preacher, anyone that is Christian and desires a greater understanding of the Word can apply these concepts as well.Blessings,Dr. Shane Erxleben

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098053246

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Don't Defeat Your Purpose

An Expository Guide for Preachers

Dr. Shane Erxleben

Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Shane Erxleben

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Final Thoughts on the Calling

Final Thoughts on Exegesis

Final Thoughts on Application

Eschew Monotony

Lifestyle and Daily Routine

Final Thoughts on Christ-Centered Preaching

Final Reflections on Yielding to the Holy Spirit

Final Reflections of Sermon Manifestation

Introduction

The call of a preacher is one of extreme responsibility and care. The supernatural realm of the spirit is like none other that a person will encounter in this life or the one to come. With that said, the call of a preacher is not determined by man but by God himself. However, there is still an obligation on the part of the man to show himself approved. The Bible declares: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). This takes training, time, suffering, consecration, longsuffering, integrity, and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The preacher must be able to put an all-in effort toward the message and yet not display themselves in it but rather the glory of God. In light to this phenomenon, the preacher must have a personal relationship with God and be the first partaker of the message that is given him to preach. As the Apostle Paul relayed to the Corinthian Church, the preacher must continually examine themselves and understand that it is Jesus Christ in you that does the work. It is this humbleness that allows a preacher to move in the power that God desires to manifest within his message. This is revealed in the Scriptures such as: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6 KJV).

The central mission of the preacher is to sow the seed that God has given to fulfill the intended mission and will for the hearer or congregation. When this mission is aborted by the preacher, the seed falls to the ground and souls are put into jeopardy. This also includes the delivering of a message that is partially aborted. In simplistic terms, any message given in the flesh by any measure will not be honored or anointed by God! This in turn causes the word to fall void. The following and confidence of Isaiah the prophet displayed this very notion:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8–11 KJV)

The scriptural basis that connects itself to this guidebook refers to Judah’s son Onan. Onan was commissioned to sow and raise up seed to his brother’s wife. Onan knew that this seed would not be his but his brother’s. Thus, Onan began the mission of sowing the seed but then ultimately spilled it on the ground out of selfishness. The central Scripture reads as follows:

And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also. (Genesis 38:8-–10, KJV)

The preacher’s mission is to sow the seed without any recognition on their own part. The seed is for the hearer and to fulfill the will of God. If a preacher decides to add himself or personal agenda to the message, their ministry will die just like Onan. The Scripture is held true then that many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14 KJV), because the chosen have completely connected themselves to God’s agenda and not their own. The ideology of this guide is to educate preachers in not allowing their seed to fall to the ground, such as Onan. This in turn describes the title of this dissertation of Don’t Defeat Your Purpose: An Expository Guide for Preachers.

The intention of this guidebook is to direct the preacher into an expository method of rightly dividing the Word of Truth. The process of the preacher is not intended to eliminate the crucial element of the Holy Spirit or the anointing, but rather add knowledge and content to it. The major objectives are for the called preachers, but there are good directives for those just desiring to study the Bible and getting a good interpretation from it as well. The dissertation begins with the actual call of the preacher. Once a call has been established, the dissertation goes straight into an expositional instruction for the message that God has directed. This includes exegesis, homiletics, and application. The following section describes the importance of utilizing Christ-centered messages. The entire Bible, in one way or another, is about Jesus, so including him in every message is essential. Next, the guidebook will spend time confronting the preparation of the preacher. Last, but certainly not least,