Having been asked to speak on the above topic, immediately I inquired of the Lord and was prompted to ask the question, “Why is there an absolute need for God-sent anointed messengers in the 21st Century?”

The unexpected, but simple answer, “Any other will not stand.” In these last days only the God sent anointed messenger will be able to walk through the fire and not be burned. Only the God sent anointed messenger will be able to pass through the waters and not drown! Times of adversity and challenges will demand steadfastness and unshakable faith in the power and sovereignty of God Almighty. The man-sent, self-appointed, and fleshly anointed messengers will be exposed by their ineffectiveness and unproductiveness in kingdom building, as well as their instability and inability to handle the challenges of life. In essence, their fruit will give them away! “…by their fruit you shall know them (Matthew 7:15-23).

The advancement of God’s kingdom is entrusted only to those who will position themselves to hear from God and declare His word with supernatural power that will ultimately kill the flesh and purify the heart. That kind of power comes through the preaching of the gospel! Therefore, a God sent anointed messenger cannot be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is power of God unto salvation to every one that believes… (Romans 1:16).

A preacher, by common definition, is one who heralds, proclaims, announces, declares, publishes the gospel (good news) of Jesus the Christ. There are three basic aspects of the preaching ministry, which distinguishes a God sent, anointed preacher from the man-sent, self-appointed one. They are: the message, the mission, and the motive. In other words, what he says, what he does, and the reasons for saying what he says and doing what he does.

The message of a God sent anointed messenger is Christ-centered. The mission is soul winning, and the motive is love. In Romans 10, as Apostle Paul addressed his desire for the salvation of the Jews, he gives the basics for being saved by faith in Jesus Christ— confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart men believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation; For the scripture saith, whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! Then, Paul asked four rhetorical questions, which confirms the need for a God sent preacher, and set forth the three basic essentials for effectiveness in kingdom building: 1) How shall they (whosoever) call upon him in whom they have not believed? (Motive). People need to know in whom they can believe and be given a reason to believe. This reason is simply God loves you. Like God’s motive the preacher’s motive must be love. With all that’s going on in the world today, love can sometimes seems to be distant and cold even among family and friends. However, it is up to the preacher to declare the unconditional love of God for all mankind. 2) How shall they (whosoever) believe in him of whom they have not heard? (Message). It’s easy to assume that because we live in America, everyone has heard about Jesus. While everyone may have heard the name, they have not all heard the message of Truth. And until they have heard the whole truth they have no options as to accept or reject Him or the message. Therefore, the message must be proclaimed loudly and clearly without compromise or fear. The message is simple— Jesus died a horrible and humiliating death on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sins so that we could be brought back into right relationship with God. On the third day, He rose from the dead with all power over heaven and earth in His hands. He proved God’s love for us and now all we have to do is believe in Him as savior of the world. 3) How shall they (whosoever) hear without a preacher; and 4) How shall they (preacher) preach except they be sent (Mission). Unless there is someone to proclaim or publish this message people will have no hope of being reconciled to the Father. This type of “hearing” is not with the natural ear, but requires the work of the Holy Spirit to open an individual's spiritual ear to hear what the Spirit is saying. Therefore, the messenger must be anointed and sent (commissioned) by God to speak with power in order to be effective in changing lives. People will not hear unless the messenger’s words are spoken with power and authority to the human spirit and cause them to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s true we are living in perilous times, but I am convinced that God has a remnant that has not given up on advancing the kingdom of God— a remnant that believes it’s harvest time! Without a doubt, there are preachers who are sincere about the proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. They have a passion for kingdom building. Their motive is love— a love for God and love for people. They have no hidden agendas and seek no fame or fortune for themselves. In fact, they offer themselves daily as living sacrifices and consider it a reasonable service to be advancers and advocates for the kingdom of God. Their mission is evangelism (soul-winning), and their message is Jesus, the Son of God, is Savior of the world, and He died and resurrected for the “whosoever.”

It is imperative that we as the people of God be about our Father’s business. We must work the works of Him who sent us while it is day. This is the time of opportunity. We must not waste valuable time dimpling and dappling in the minute issues and matters that have no lasting value in carrying out God’s plans and purposes.
And I say to all preachers of the Gospel, “BE ENCOURAGED! If God be for you, who can be against you?