When God recommissioned Jonah, he said, "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" (Jonah 3:2). The message Jonah wanted to preach and the message God had bidden him to preach were poles apart. Jonah's message was condemnation and no grace. God's message was that by his grace the Assyrians could escape condemnation through their repentance. Jonah had already tried to evade the responsibility of preaching God's message. Having been educated in the belly of a great fish, he was then ready to comply with the command to preach the message God had bidden him to preach.

God's message to modern preachers is still the same. "Arise, go into all the world and preach the preaching that I bid unto thee." Unfortunately, there are a number of preachers today, who like Jonah, have their own message to preach. They are more concerned about their agenda than God's agenda. To them, God bidden preaching is forbidden preaching. They are evidently more concerned with pleasing the person in the pew than they are with pleasing the Lord of those in the pew. Their preaching is not God bidden -- it is popularity bidden. They have fallen prey to the request, "Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (Isa. 30:10). An astonishing and horrible thing is happening in our brotherhood; many preachers are preaching falsely and the people love to have it so (Jer. 5:30, 31). Oh how we need more proclaimers of the God bidden Message! Oh how we need more messengers who can say like Paul, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27)! Paul's preaching was God bidden.

Balance is so sorely needed. God bidden preaching is preaching that is both positive and negative. A car battery has both a positive pole and a negative pole. Both are important. Likewise, God bidden preaching will not be lopsided. There are times when the sermon must be designed to rebuke, reprove and admonish (Matt. 23; 2 Tim. 4:2). We must unashamedly preach the word, without regard for the cries of those who wish to have their ears tickled and their backs scratched (2 Tim. 4:2-4). These admonitions are to be given with a spirit that is longsuffering, meek and gentle and yet unwilling to compromise the gospel one iota (2 Tim. 4:2; 2:24-26). On the other hand, we must present lessons that will encourage faithful brethren, reminding them of the precious promises that we enjoy in Christ (2 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:1). We mustn't be afraid to preach on grace simply because we are afraid someone will think that we are soft on obedience. If we preach on grace properly, there will be no doubt left in people's minds as to where we stand. We should preach a gospel that "comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable." God bidden preaching doesn't avoid controversy and brotherhood issues. Neither does it focus so much on these issues that it ignores other issues of equal importance. In short, God bidden preaching is balanced preaching, preaching that points out both the goodness and severity of God (Rom. 11:22). May we ever strive to preach a God bidden message!