God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
God’s Holy Spirit confirms the validity of our adoption, not by some inner, mystical voice, but by the fruit He produces (Gal. 5:22-23) and the power He provides for spiritual service (Ac. 1:8).
Consequently, unless the Scriptures constitute the basis for all the structural elements of a sermon and unless the expositor labors diligently in the context of each of the texts he cites, a sermon will inevitably lack the power of the Word of Truth rightly divided, and hearers will be misled, both in the substance of what is taught and in the example of Bible study methodology. The preacher must lead his people into the text, not away from it.
