What’s Your Message?

I have spent A LOT of time listening to preaching over the last month. I love listening to preachers and I think podcasts are the greatest invention ever! As I have been listening to different preachers, I have noticed an interesting thing about great preachers. They ALL have one message.  What I mean is almost every preacher who I have listened to has ONE theme that runs through their preaching no matter what the subject they are teaching on. It is the one thing that over everything else gets their fire going.

For example:

• It doesn’t matter what Ed Young Jr. is teaching, he is going to get it back to creativity
• Perry Noble’s message throughout his messages is Christians need to be  dangerous and not settle for Christianity as it is
• TD Jakes always has a message of encouragement. No matter what he is teaching, the underlying theme is “you can make it.”
• When I listen to Steven Furtick I always hear that God is BIG and wants to do BIG things.
• Mark Driscoll could be preaching on ANYTHING and it goes back to the gospel and the bible

I don’t think this is an intentional thing, I just think it is an outflow of their passion and their message God has put them on the earth to convey.  Listen to your favorite preacher and you will begin to see over and over  that their message, their passion will come out in one form or another. I believe it is born in them from a life experience.

I think for me, my message is GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.  It doesn’t matter what I preach about, I am going to get it around to the fact that God has a purpose and plan for your life.  Almost every message I preach I talk about the fact that God can use anybody. I love to talk about the fact that God doesn’t care about your past, He doesn’t care about education, He just cares about you being willing to be used and discover your purpose.

I never thought about the fact that this was my message until everyone started pointing it to me. If you go back and listen to my old messages, I talk about the fact that God can use you non-stop. But if you knew my past, it makes sense. I am a perfect example of God can use anyone.  I have never been the smartest, the most athletic, or best looking (well, maybe that one isn’t true. ).  I was the LAST person you thought would ever be a preacher, a leader, much less a pastor of a great church, but I am proof that God can use anyone. God is in the business of taking that which seems unusable and doing great things through it.

Revolution Church is a church that is full of people who no one will mistake as superstars. Yet, God has used the people of Revolution to do great things.  Why? Because God can use anyone.  I think that is awesome.

I have had critics talk about the fact that I am a broken record in my preaching. It use to bug me, but I just realize that it is my message, it is my passion, and I think I’ll keep the repeat button turned to the “on” position.

Look back over your teaching, what is your message?  We all have one whether we realize it or not.