Prayer and Preaching by Eric J. Alexander

Posted on February 12, 2015 by roger willmore

Dr. Eric J. Alexander has been a minister of the Church of Scotland for over fifty years. His last pastorate was at St. George’s Tron , Glasgow. He has been a frequent speaker at the Keswick Convention in the Lake District and similar conventions around the world.

(I have the profoundest respect for Dr. Eric Alexander. He is among the favored speakers at the historic Keswick Convention, Keswick, England. I was first introduced him through his ministry at Keswick. In 1997 he was a guest speaker at Samford University, Beeson Divinity School Pastors School. I was a workshop leader that year and was afforded the opportunity to spend time with Dr. Alexander. In the years that followed he preached in my pulpit numerous times, always to the great delight and blessing of the people. I count him among the greatest expositors of our time. He has a scholar’s intellect and a pastor’s heart. He is an authentic Christian.

Dr. Alexander on Prayer and Preaching

Prayer and preaching belong together, and not just because of alliteration. They belong together in the mind and wisdom and purpose of God. Prayer is the sine qua non of preaching, because true preaching is not merely an intellectual or oratorical exercise, depending on human skills. It is a spiritual work, depending on the power of God to make His word living and effective, and the anointing of God, to make the preacher the vehicle of God’s grace. That is why it is possible for someone to be brilliantly gifted as a scholar, an orator and a communicator, and yet, in the pulpit to be an irrelevance so far as God is concerned. The prayerless preacher is a contradiction in terms, as is the prayerless church. Dr. Campbell Morgan, who preceded Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Westminster Chapel, London, often told of a crisis in his ministry when he became aware that he was popular in the world, but largely useless to God. It was as if God was saying to him, ‘Preach on, great preacher–without me.’ He went through a spiritual battle all that night, until the morning he was bowed before God, acknowledging his absolute dependence on Him.

It is this question which is at issue when we think of the relationship between prayer and preaching; where is my confidence? On what power do I ultimately depend? Do I covet a reputation more than the anointing of God on my ministry? Have I, also, allowed a division between prayer and preaching? It is never too late to put this right. Go now and confess your error to Him, and then settle before Him the God-given priority of ministry as in Acts 6:4, ‘We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ Pray for prayer partners to be raised up to pray for you. If you do not yet have a prayer meeting in your own church, seek the help of other prayer meetings to pray for your preaching.

The church leaders who may read this, let me urge upon you the absolute necessity of a praying people for the preaching of God’s word. You cannot separate prayer and preaching. A friend of mine (more bold than I!) once spoke with the leading laymen in a church he was visiting, ‘Do you have a prayer meeting?’, he asked. The reply was, ‘No, we do not have such a meeting, but we have just invited a fine young preacher to be our new minister.’ My friend responded, ‘If you do not have a prayer meeting in your church, you have no business inviting a minister into your pulpit.’ Professor Finlayson of the Free Church College in Edinburgh was once asked, ‘What is the greatest need of a young man entering his first ministry?’ His answer was, ‘A praying people.’

It concerns me that in many evangelical churches which do have prayer meetings, the part of the work least prayed for is the preaching of the word on the Lord’s day, and the one who has that responsibility. Paul pleads with the church at Ephesus to pray for him, ‘that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.’ May the church of Jesus Christ in our generation learn in depth how inseparable are prayer and preaching, and put what we learn into practice.

Eric J. Alexander, Epilogue to, Prayer a Biblical Perspective.

Reverend George B. Duncan, Keswick England, 1951

Posted on February 11, 2015 by roger willmore

The Reverend George B. Duncan, former pastor of St. George’s Tron, Church of Scotland, Glasgow; and one of the most popular speakers at the English Keswick and Keswick’s around the world.

Spiritual Priorities

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection. Philippians 3:10

You may be disappointed, because of some dreadful failure in your life. I want to say to you that the intention of God is surely not that His children should be disappointed. Do you read anywhere in the New Testament that God’s intention is that you and I should be depressed and disappointed and cast down and dismayed? I do not. Instead, I read a note of confidence coming again and again- ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ ‘This is the Victory’- not maybe, or ought to be, but ‘This is the victory that overcometh the world.’ ‘Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God.’ An amazing note of confidence runs all through the Word of God. It is not the intention of God that we should be disappointed. Provision is made for our confidence; the power of His risen life.

Does any feel downcast to the point of despair because of some tragic failure? Do not add to your sins the sin of under-estimating the measure of God’s forgiveness, and having got the measure of God’s forgiveness which has no limit, take this to your heart, disappointed, defeated- it may be even disgraced- child of God; that you have resident within you ‘the power of His resurrection’. God can give no more than that. God has no more to give; and God gives this to every child of His. So we must be confident, not in ourselves, but in Him.

Preached at the Historic Keswick Christian Life Convention, Keswick, England, Summer 1951

Taken from: Daily Thoughts From Keswick, A Year’s Daily Readings, Hebert Stevenson, editor

Prevailing Prayer

Posted on February 11, 2015 by roger willmore

Wesley Duewel

God intends your praying to secure divine answers. Prayer is not just God’s diversion to keep from being lonely. He delights in your fellowship. He always draws nearer when you pray. Also, prevailing prayer is one of the most important ministries in God’s kingdom plans.

Prevailing prayer is not simply a spiritual exercise to help you grow in grace. Certainly nothing is more beneficial to growth in grace than growth in the life of prayer. The more you prevail, the more you learn the secrets of God’s grace and the powers of His kingdom. The more you intercede, the more intimate will be your walk with Christ and the stronger you will become by the Spirit’s power.

Prevailing prayer is God’s ordained means for extending His kingdom, for defeating Satan and his empire of darkness and evil, and for fulfilling God’s eternal plan and bringing into effect His good will on earth. It is God’s means of covering the earth with His blessings. Prevailing prayer is God’s priority strategy for our age and dispensation. The history of the church can never be fully written until Christ in eternity reveals the mighty hidden prayer involvement of all His praying people. What a joy that revelation will bring to Christ’s prayer partners…

Prevailing prayer is the most divine ministry you will ever have. Nothing is more Christlike or involves more cooperation with Christ. No form of Christian service is both so universally open to all and so high on Christ’s priority for all Christians as prevailing prayer. It is Christ’s desire, Christ’s call, and Christ’s command. Lord, teach us to prevail!

Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer.

E.M. Bounds on Prayer and Preaching

Posted on February 11, 2015 by roger willmore

E.M. Bounds

By a slight perversion, the sweetest graces may bear the bitterest fruit. The sun gives life, but sunstrokes are death. Preaching is to give life, but it may kill. The preacher holds the keys; he may lock as well as unlock. Preaching is God’s great institution for the planting and maturing of spiritual life. When properly executed its benefits are untold. When wrongly executed, no evil can exceed its damaging result.

It is an easy matter to destroy the flock if the shepherd is unwary or the pasture is destroyed. It is easy to capture the citadel if the watchman is asleep or the food and water are poisoned. The preacher is invested with gracious prerogatives, exposed to great evils, involving so many grave responsibilities. It would be a parody on the shrewdness of the Devil- a libel on his character and reputation- if he did not use his master influences to adulterate the preacher and preaching. In the face of all this, Paul’s exclamatory question, Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:16) is never out of place…

The great hindrance is in the preacher himself. He does not find within himself the mighty, life-creating forces. There may be no deficiency in his orthodoxy, honesty, cleanness, or earnestness. But, somehow the man- the inner man- in his secret places has never broken down and surrendered to God. His inner life is not a great highway for the transmission of God’s message, God’s power.

Somehow, self, not God rules in the holy of holiest. Somewhere, all unconscious to himself, some spiritual nonconductor has touched his inner being. The divine current has been arrested. His inner being has never felt its thorough spiritual bankruptcy, its utter powerlessness. He has never learned to cry out with an ineffable cry of self-despair and helplessness until God’s power and fire come in, fill, purify, and empower. Self-esteem- self-ability in some wicked form- has defamed and violated the temple that should be held sacred for God.

Life-giving preaching costs the preacher much- death to self, crucifixion to the world, the travail of his own soul. Only crucified preaching can give life. Crucified preaching can come only from a crucified man.

E.M. BOUNDS, chapter, Our Sufficiency is of God

The Lordship of Jesus Christ

Posted on February 9, 2015 by roger willmore

http://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/fellows/spring03/willmore.htm.

This link will take you to the Union University website and to the page containing the manuscript of the sermon on The Lordship of Jesus Christ which was my submission to the R.G. Lee Fellowship.

Osaka Japan Keswick Christian Life Convention 50th Anniversary

Posted on February 6, 2015 by roger willmore

2008 Osaka Japan Keswick Christian Life Convention. Dr. Jonathan Lamb, Chm. of the English Keswick, Keswick, England is speaking. Rev. Timothy Konishi is translating.

In 2008 I traveled to Japan to speak in a series of Keswick Christian Life Conventions. It was a dream come true for me. My mentor, Dr. Stephen F. Olford, was one of the regular speakers in the Japan Keswick Conventions. I can remember the times he and Heather would return from ministry in Japan and give a report on the Keswick ministry. I carried in my heart a desire to minister in Japan a long time before my first invitation came.

Keswick has had a significant influence on the Christian church in Japan for over 50 years. The Tokyo Keswick recently celebrated 50 years of convention ministry. This month, February, Osaka is celebrating 50 years of Keswick ministry. Dr. David Olford will be among the guest preachers in the Osaka Convention.

Dr. Hiroshi Nishikori translating. Roger Willmore preaching.

I have been back to Japan numerous times since 2008 to speak in Keswick Christian Life Conventions and other conventions. My love and appreciation for the Japanese people has deepened over the years. The Lord has blessed me with many wonderful Japanese friends for whom I give thanks.

I want to take this opportunity to Congratulate Osaka Keswick Christian Live Convention on this 50th Anniversary of convention ministry. Only God knows the impact this convention has had on the Christian Church in Japan.

“All One in Christ Jesus.” All who attend the Keswick Convention in Keswick, England become synonymous with the Keswick Convention worldwide.

The Osaka Keswick Convention stands in the grand tradition of the English Keswick. I give thanks to God for the opportunity to say a personal word of congratulations to the leaders and participants of the Osaka Keswick Christian Life Convention on the occasion of the Convention’s 50th Anniversary. On this Golden Anniversary the Osaka Keswick Convention celebrates fifty years of bringing to the people of Osaka and to the country of Japan the preaching of the message of fullness of life in Jesus Christ.

Some of the greatest preachers of the 20th and 21st century have preached from the Osaka Keswick pulpit. I want to commend the members of the Central Committee and the Osaka Committee for keeping the Japan conventions closely tied to the English Keswick. The integrity of the Keswick Conventions in Japan speaks well of the leadership provided by pastors and laymen.

I cannot think of the importance of the preaching of God’s Word in Japan Keswick’s without thinking of the pastors who translate for us foreign guest preachers. I have profound appreciation for the ministry of these men and can honestly say that I count each one as a friend. Those who have translated for me in the Keswick Conventions are: Rev. Ryo Iwahashi,(who has translated for Franklin Graham numerous times), Dr. Stephen Mitsuhashi, (who has translated for Billy Graham numerous times), Rev. Timothy Konishi, and Rev. Yutaka Ikeda.

BBR & BR (Big Bro. Roger & Bro. Ryo) Roger Willmore and Ryo Iwahashi. We make a good team and good friends. Ryo has become like a younger brother to me over the past seven years.

In just a few days the Keswick Conventions in Japan will be taking place in their various locations across Japan. I pray God’s blessings upon each convention and each preacher and translator. I pray for a special blessing upon the Osaka Convention. May this 50th Anniversary year be one of great blessing to the people and great glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the words of the Apostle Paul, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests for your all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

Sincerely,
Roger Willmore

: Television Interview

Tribute to Stephen Olford

Posted on February 5, 2015 by roger willmore

Dr. Stephen F. Olford and Roger Willmore

This article first appeared in the October 2004 issue of SBCLife, published less than two months following Dr. Olford’s death in August. The entire article and additional testimonies can be seen on line by searching for “A Tribute to Stephen F. Olford,” or by going to SBCLife archives. Dr. Olford was my friend and mentor for 35 years. I still miss him greatly. I pray that this tribute will be a blessing to you. I pray for those of you who never knew Stephen Olford that you might take steps to acquaint yourself with his books, sermons and other resources. Go to http://www.stephenolford.com for more information.

A TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN F.OLFORD by Roger D. Willmore

His was no ordinary life. In fact the extraordinary happenings that seemed to characterize his life and ministry began when he was still in his mother’s womb. Stephen Olford was born to missionary parents, Fredrick and Bessie Olford, on March 29, 1918. Fredrick Olford’s basic knowledge of medicine and the experience he had gained on the mission field caused him to anticipate that the birth of their first baby might be accompanied by complications. Rather than taking a chance, he and Bessie made up their minds to make the thousand-mile trek from Angola to the British colony of Northern Rhodesia. Fred walked every step of the way while Bessie was carried in a hammock by A-Chokwe men.

The first seventeen years of his life were spent in the heart of Africa where he witnessed the marvelous power of God working through the lives of his godly parents. His experiences in Africa flavored his preaching. I can remember when I first heard Stephen Olford’s voice on the old reel to reel tape player in 1969; I as a senior in high school. His accounts of miracles from God among the A-Chokwe people captured my youthful imagination. I learned later how those experiences forged his character.

Stephen Olford left the home he had known and loved in Angola to live in England where he would pursue a career in engineering. In college his thesis project was carburetion. He developed a special carburetion system and took up motorcycle racing to demonstrate the efficiency of his invention. On his way home from a race on a cold rainy night he crashed his motorcycle and lay injured on the road in the rain for several hours. Pneumonia quickly set in. Doctors announced, “Two weeks to live.”

Laying on his death bed, Stephen Olford received a letter from his father in Africa. Fredrick Olford knew nothing of his son’s condition. It took three months for a letter to travel from Africa to England. But in God’s sovereignty the letter contained words that would forever change the life of Stephen Olford. His father wrote, Only one Life, ‘Twill soon be past, Only what is done for Christ will last. Stephen Olford read those words and fell under deep conviction. He slipped out of bed, dropped to his knees, and cried out to God. He prayed, Lord, You have won and I own You as my King of Kings and Lord of lords…and Lord if You will heal my body, I will serve You anywhere, anytime, and at any cost. God answered his prayer and from that day until August 29, 2004, when he went to be with the Lord, Stephen Olford’s life was ablaze for God.

In 1959 Stephen Olford came to the United States to pastor the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City. He embarked upon this new chapter in his life with wife Heather and sons Jonathan and David at his side. It was from the famed Calvary pulpit that Dr. Olford’s anointed expository preaching began to impact people around the world. His days at Calvary made the world his parish.

It is appropriate that we as Southern Baptists pay tribute to Stephen Olford. His passionate and powerful expository preaching, along with his evangelistic zeal, made him a favorite on Southern Baptist Convention platforms across the country. He spoke at the SBC Pastor’s Conference numerous times and he was a frequent speaker at state conventions and conferences. I had the privilege of serving as conference president in Alabama, and Stephen Olford was keynote speaker for two of the sessions. Our conference theme was PREACH THE WORD.

It is the testimony of countless pastors and evangelists and missionaries in our Southern Baptist Convention that they really came into the blessings of the Lord under Dr. Olford’s ministry.

I am writing this article on behalf of my fellow Southern Baptists to honor the life and ministry of God’s faithful servant, Dr. Stephen F. Olford, and to express gratitude to God for giving such a wonderful gift to His Church. I also want to express our appreciation to his wife Heather and their two sons, Jonathan and David for sharing Dr. Olford with us.

In 1988 the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical preaching was founded in Memphis, Tennessee. I remember with clarity Dr. Olford casting the vision for a ministry of promoting biblical exposition and practical training for pastors, evangelists, and lay leaders. From the beginning Dr. Olford’s motto was, Ministry to Ministers is Ministry to Multitudes.

There are three beautiful banners prominently displayed in the Olford Center chapel which contain three foundation truths that guide the Olford ministry. The three banners contain the words: Jesus is Lord; Be Ye Holy; and Preach the Word. The life of Stephen Olford epitomized the truth of each of these banner statements. The powerful anointed preaching that characterized his preaching ministry emerged from a holy life lived under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The passion of his life was to preach the Word. He often said,

Southern Baptists owe a debt of gratitude to God for the life of Stephen Olord. He has ministerd effectively on our convention platforms, in our churches, and in our seminaries. His friendship, his counsel, his godly life, and his anointed preaching have made an indelible impression on all of us. It is true that the world was his parish and he ministered to the masses, but who can forget that beaming smile, that radiant personality, and that loving hug. He never lost sight of the value of the individual. I will always remember the many times I have been with him after a conference when everyone else would be gone and Dr. Olford could be found sitting with a hurting pastor in need of counsel. He would embrace the crowd and then he would embrace the individual.

Lord, thank you for the faithful, selfless, and sacrificial service of your servant, Stephen F. Olford. Amen
He being dead yet speaketh…and the admonition is clear. Preach the Word!

Dr. Stephen F. Olford, Prince of Preachers

Only One Life, by Dr.John Phillips, the biography of Stephen Olford.

Heather Olford went Home to be with the Lord on December 21, 2013

D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Preaching

Posted on February 4, 2015 by roger willmore

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

In the early 1970’s I was a young pastor just getting started in pastoral and pulpit ministry. A dear friend, not much older than I, a student at Columbia Bible College, gave me a copy of Preaching and Preachers, by Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. It was and continues to be one of my most cherished books. I now realize how timeless the book is. Preaching and Preachers should be read by every preacher and by anyone considering pulpit ministry.

I will borrow just a few of Lloyd-Jones’ words to stir your interest in this must read book, but also to share with someone who is reading a point of view on preaching that is slowing be swept into the shadows.

From chapter one, The Primacy of Preaching. Why am I prepared to speak and lecture on preaching? There are a number of reasons. It has been my life’s work. I have been forty-two years in the ministry, and the main part of my work has been preaching; not exclusively, but the main part of it has been preaching. In addition it is something that I have been constantly studying. I am conscious of my inadequacies and my failures as I have been trying to preach for all of these years; and that has led inevitably to a good deal of study and of discussion and of general interest in the whole matter. But, ultimately my reason for being very ready to give these lectures is that to me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. If you want something in addition to that I would say without any hesitation that the most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.

The statement about its being the most urgent need leads to the first matter that we must discuss together–Is there any need for preaching? Is there any place for preaching in the modern Church and the modern world, or has preaching become quite outmoded? The very fact that one has to pose such a question, and to consider it, is, it seems to me, the most illuminating commentary on the state of the Church at the present time. I feel that that is the chief explanation of the present more or less parlous condition and ineffectiveness of the Christian Church in the world today. This whole question of the need of preaching, and the place of preaching in the ministry of the Church, is in question at this present time, so we have to start with that. So often when people are asked to lecture or to speak on preaching they rush immediately to consider methods and ways and means and the mechanics. I believe that is quite wrong We must start with the presuppositions and with the background, and with general principles; for unless I am very greatly mistaken, the main trouble arises from the fact that people are not clear in their minds as to what preaching really is….

From the Dust Jacket: Some may object to my dogmatic assertions; but I do not apologize for them. Every preacher should believe strongly in his own method; and if I cannot persuade all of the rightness of mine, I can at least stimulate them to think and to consider other possibilities. I can say quite honestly that I would not cross the road to listen to myself preaching, and the preachers whom I have enjoyed most have been very different in their style. But my business is not to describe them but to state what I believe to be right, however imperfectly I have put my won precepts into practice. I can only hope that the result will be of some help, and especially to young preachers called to the greatest of all tasks, and especially in these sad and evil times. With many others I pray that ‘The Lord of the harvest may thrust forth many mighty preachers to proclaim the ‘unsearchable riches of Christ.’ “

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was born in South Wales. He trained at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, qualified as physician and became assistant to the famous Lord Horder. He gave up his medical career in 1927 and became the minister of a Welsh Presbyterian Church in Aberavon, South Wales. He was there until 1938 when he moved to London to share the ministry of Westminster Chapel with Dr. G. Campbell Morgan who retired in 1943. This ministry lasted for 30 years until Dr. Lloyd-Jones retired in August 1968.

RDW

Robert Murray McCheyne on Prayer

Posted on February 2, 2015 by roger willmore

Robert Murray Mcheyne

EARLY WILL I SEEK YOU…

I ought to pray before seeing anyone. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a solitary place. David said, “Early will I seek thee,” and, “My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning.” Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. My conscience feels guilty, my soul unfed, my lamp not trimmed. Then, when in secret prayer, the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God—to see His face first—to get my soul near Him before it is near another.

Robert Murray McCheyne

Robert Murray McCheyne on Prayer

Posted on February 2, 2015 by roger willmore

Robert Murray McCheyne

Those who study the life of Robert Murray McCheyne know him to be a man mighty in prayer.

From E.M. Bounds collection on prayer, page 467, McCheyne addresses the topic of “The Divine Channel of Power.”

Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last only an hour or two; your life preaches all week. If Satan can make you a covetous minister, a lover of praise, of pleasure, or good eating, he has ruined your ministry. Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. Luther spent his best three hours in prayer.

–Robert Murray McCheyne