He must be earnest. Men who preach the gospel of Christ must be
earnest. They must not trifle with the gospel and the souls of men.
The theme is too vast, the responsibility too great and the issues
too momentous to be treated in a careless, indifferent and prosing
manner. The idea of a man speaking of questions of life and death,
eternal happiness and eternal misery, the glories to be revealed at
the appearing and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the terrible
destruction that shall be the destiny to all who obey not the gospel,
in a cold, dull and unfeeling manner, is preposterous. These are the
most awful, momentous and sublime themes that ever dwelt upon the lips
of men; and let him who speaks of them, remember that he is pleading in
a case of life and death. Let him speak with earnestness, spirit and
power.
He must be a man of perseverance. A man who can not preach a week
without any success, and not become discouraged, had better go home.
He is not the man. It is nothing strange to preach a dozen or fifteen
discourses without success. Let him preach again. If he still has
no success, let him humble himself before the Lord, in most fervent
prayer, and make another effort. If he shall still fail in one place,
go to another, and try again. Remember Noah, who preached one hundred
and twenty years, without an addition, and preach on and pray on. Trust
in the Lord, and work on.
He must be a man that can not be discouraged. He must be determined
that he will listen to no discouraging tales. When met by some
faint-hearted, sickly, and half-believing brother, who doles out his
story about the troubles among the brethren, the opposition to be
encountered, and how “hard a place it is,” where he is operating, he
must pay no attention to it, but rise above it, and bear it in mind
that there are good and honest-hearted souls in every community, who
will receive and obey the gospel, if it is faithfully presented. Keep
these in your mind, preaching brother, and try to save them, and you
will succeed in a vast majority of cases. Inspire your audience with
courage and confidence, especially the brethren. Allow no whining,
complaining, and saying, “We can’t do anything,” and believe nothing
of the kind. You _can do something_, and you must tell the people so,
and _keep on_ till you do it. You must not work in doubt, but in strong
confidence that you have the truth—that you are advocating the cause
of righteousness—that God is in it, will be with you, never leave you
nor forsake you—that you can, by the help of the Lord, make the cause
prosper, and will do it.