Preacher, postman or pleader. A preacher opening his discourse on a passage of scripture which was full of the gospel invitation and command asked the congregation to look upon him as a postman that day. In saying this, he got his sermon underway on entirely the wrong foot. Why? How? A postman has to deliver the mail faithfully and completely untampered with. That's his task, that's his only task. He has no interest in what he is delivering, whether or not the mail is wanted or hated, whether or not the recipient would do anything about it. The postman has done his job when he's pushed the mail through the letterbox. He has no business to knock at the door, argue with the householder, plead with him to open the letter, read it and respond to it. Not at all. His job is to deliver the mail safe and sound, untampered with. That's all. Whatever else a preacher is, however, most definitely he is not a postman. He is meant to do far more than merely deliver the text, in this case the gospel invitation and command. He has to be faithful in his presentation of the gospel, in his delivery, yes, of course, but above all, he is meant to connect with his hearers, to touch their hearts, move them, persuade them, challenge, warn, encourage, exhort, and seek to persuade them to obey the gospel, and if they're unbelievers, to come to Christ. He must be the exact opposite of disinterested. He must follow God in Christ and the apostles and show his love and concern for his hearers, his longing for their spiritual welfare, his earnest desire for their benefit, even their salvation. And he must be pressing, wanting their conversion under this sermon now. And it must show. Alas, today we have far too many postmen and far too many pleaders in the pulpit. Yes, we need the text laid out properly. Yes, we need the proper deductions to be made from the text. No question of it. But when that is done, the mail has been delivered and that is all. Unless the preacher presses the gospel upon his hearers, he has failed. He's been a postman. Nothing more. He has not been a pleader. Take the Welsh Methodist preacher, Howell Harris. While not defending everything that he said, on the point I raise here, across the centuries, Harris speaks today. Indeed, he cries out. He described the way he preached. He would open his discourse by explaining the text in its context. But in doing that, he knew he was not preaching. He was waiting for the gale, the authority to come upon him. By this, he meant the Spirit of God in power. But when the Spirit did come upon him, then he would preach. But only then, having explained the text, then, by the Spirit's enabling power, Harris would preach, really preach with authority, as he put it. As I say, without endorsing every turn of phrase, Harris was right. We, today, need to catch some of his fire. Reading sermons is utterly destructive of the vital distinction I am trying to make, and which Harris so graphically illustrated. Reading may be fine for accuracy, explanation, passing on of information, though I doubt it. But to preach, to feel, and above all, to make the hearers feel, to be persuaded, is a very, very different thing. Fiddling with a sheaf of notes, rustling sheets of paper, presenting a smooth and polished PowerPoint, delivering a boring red sermon drone, constitutes a very, very serious hindrance to preaching. Preachers awake. We're not mere postmen. We must be pleaders. as was said of Robert Murray McChain. So it must be said of us, the hearers felt he was dying to have them converted. But let me close with Paul. Writing to the Thessalonian believers, the Apostle set out what he was aiming for in his preaching and how he measured success. Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction. You turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. Nothing less will do.