I Am Sent to Thee With Heavy Tidings
The sermon emphasizes the importance of unfolding the consequences of sin and the need for tenderness in warning others, while balancing good and heavy tidings in our preaching.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the importance of delivering both the heavy and good tidings of God's message, as exemplified in the story of Jeroboam and the old prophet. He warns that sin is not merely a mistake but a crime against a holy God, deserving of serious consequences. Meyer calls for preachers to approach their ministry with tenderness and compassion, urging them to feel the weight of the message they deliver. He highlights the necessity of warning others about the dire consequences of sin while also sharing the hope of salvation. Ultimately, he encourages believers to declare the whole counsel of God without fear or hesitation.
Text
I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 1 Kings xiv. 5.
HOW foolish! Jeroboam thought that the old prophet could penetrate the vail that hid the future, but not the disguise in which his wife wished to conceal herself. As we might have expected, the aged prophet's inner sight read her heart. From God no secrets are hid. Immediately on his accosting her by her name there came the dread announcement of inevitable disaster.
We must not hesitate to unfold all the consequences of sin. As watchmen on the walls, we are bound to tell men of the certain fearful looking for of fiery indignation which shall devour the transgressors. None of us should flinch from declaring the whole counsel of God. We should specially insist on the guilt side of sin. Not only that it is a misfortune, a mistake, an error, a disease, a tyranny; but a crime. The sinner is a criminal, who has incurred the just wrath and anger of a holy God: for which he must suffer a due recompense.
Oh for more tenderness that we may with tears warn men of their doom! We are so self‑possessed, so stolid ; we need to ask that our eyes, like Jeremiah's, should be fountains of tears, that we might weep day and night. If the tidings are heavy, let us first feel their pressure on our own hearts; let us bend over the regions of despair and darkness, and hear the bitter weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and come back to warn our brethren, lest they also come to that place of torment. Though it was with fear and much trembling that Paul preached the Gospel, yet he did not shun to declare the whole counsel of God. And while we go to men with the good tidings of salvation, we must not withhold the heavy tidings from those who persist in unbelief
Sermon Outline
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I.
- The Importance of Unfolding Consequences of Sin
- The Role of Watchmen on the Walls
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II.
- The Guilt Side of Sin
- Sin as a Crime Against a Holy God
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III.
- The Need for Tenderness in Warning Others
- The Importance of Feeling the Weight of Sin
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IV.
- The Example of Paul's Preaching
- The Balance of Good and Heavy Tidings
Key Quotes
“From God no secrets are hid.” — F.B. Meyer
“Oh for more tenderness that we may with tears warn men of their doom!” — F.B. Meyer
“If the tidings are heavy, let us first feel their pressure on our own hearts;” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We should not hesitate to unfold the consequences of sin and declare the whole counsel of God.
- We should emphasize the guilt side of sin and the need for tenderness in warning others.
- We should balance good and heavy tidings in our preaching by first feeling the weight of sin on our own hearts.