Every preacher knows his ascension to the sacred desk can be a fearful climb fraught with weighty excitement. It’s why Charles Spurgeon was said to mount the stairs to the Metropolitan’s pulpit by repeating, with each step taken, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” It’s why John Piper says he almost always runs through the acronym of APTAT (Admit, Pray, Trust, Act, Thank) just before the sacred moment of preaching.

In just over twelve hours (at the time of this posting) I will, Lord willing, step up to preach on Christ’s calling of the Twelve in Mark 3:7-19. If tonight is par for the course, I won’t be nervous nor anxious, the dominating sense will be one of awesomeness – a mixture of awe and terror. The awe comes from wonder and delight that God allows me to preach His word. The terror comes from, I think, a holy fear of the responsibility I have to preach God’s word. As James 3:1 says, preacher dare not trifle with God’s word lest He be judged all the more harshly.

So, in the brief moments before walking up to the pulpit and starting the sermon, I have come to recite the acronym of R-E-L-Y.

Recognize. I recognize that, in and of myself, I am insufficient and weak for the task at hand. My words will falter in places and mind wander in places. I will not say things as clearly as I ought nor preach as boldly as I ought. The recognition leads me to remember that God’s power is made perfect in my weakness, and that my preaching ought to be a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, not my own.

Exalt. The sermon is an arrow which must hit the one grand target for which it is intended: God’s glory in Jesus Christ. I remind myself the exaltation of a crucified Christ leads to exultation in the glorious God of the universe. To exalt God’s glory in Christ is the one thing I for which I must aim.

Lead. I must lead my congregation to truth. Like a father taking his child’s hand, I must take the hand of my church and lead them to the right understanding and application of the text. The Lord places His preachers in His pulpit in order to lead His sheep to His truth.

Yearn. The final word brings me, in some ways, back to the first point. If I am to faithfully exalt God’s glory in Christ and lead His people to His truth, I need Spirit’s power. Put in the older language, I must yearn for the Spirit’s unction. EM Bounds said, “This divine unction is the one distinguishing feature that separates true gospel preaching from all other methods of presenting truth. It backs and interpenetrates the revealed truth with all the force of God. It illumines the Word and broadens and enriches the intellect and empowers it to grasp and apprehend the Word. It qualifies the preacher’s heart, and brings it to that condition of tenderness, of purity, of force and light that are necessary to secure the highest results. This unction gives to the preacher liberty and enlargement of thought and soul—a freedom, fullness, and directness of utterance that can be secured by no other process.” That is what I yearn for in my preaching.

To sum it up . . .

Recognize my weakness.
Exalt God’s glory in Christ.
Lead them to truth.
Yearn for the Spirit’s unction.