Martin Lloyd-Jones was cautious about people taking notes of his sermons. It suggested that what was going on was an information download and at some later point, the lives of his listeners would be changed. Lloyd-Jones wanted lives to change on the spot as people sensed God's holiness while the sermon was being preached. Have we lost that sense of expecting God's Spirit to be at work as we preach?
The first and primary object of preaching is not only to give information. It is, as Edwards says, to produce an impression. It is the impression at the time that matters, even more than what you can remember subsequently….It is not primarily to impart information; and while you are writing your notes you may be missing something of the impact of the Spirit. As preachers we must not forget this. We are not merely imparters of information. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival)
The life of Christ is in us! It is not theory, it is a life-giving teaching, it is a life-imparting teaching. If I am preaching in the Spirit, as I pray God I am, I am not only uttering words to you, I am imparting life to you, I am being used of God, as the channel of the Spirit and my words bring life and not merely knowledge. Do you accept that distinction? I am almost afraid sometimes for those of you who take notes, that you may just be getting the words and not the Spirit. I am not saying that you should not take notes, but I do warn you to be careful. Much more important than the words is the Spirit, the life; in Christ we are being taught, and built up in Him. So that in a sense, though you may forget the words, you will have received the life, and you go out aware of the life of God, as it were, pulsating within you. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Christian Unity: Studies in Ephesians 4:1-16, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972) 114)
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