Prayer, Praise, and Proper Preaching by Min. Louis Farrakhan

[MinFaluMuhammad]

Prayer, Praise &
PROPER PREACHING

by Minister Louis Farrakhan
[Editor's note: The following text is from a March 3, 1994, speech delivered by
Minister Louis Farrakhan at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago.]

In the Name of Allah,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.

We are gathered here today in this convention of men and women who teach and preach, to our people in particular and to all people in general, but we are gathered together in a very perilous time. The scriptures tell us that in the last days perilous times shall come. The scriptures talk about the characteristics of the people in the last days: That men will be heady, high-minded, traitors, boasters, treacherous. They will be lovers of themselves and talking about Allah (God) but denying the power thereof. We are in such a time.

This is Satan's world and Satan desires to take down all who believe in Allah (God). John the Revelator said the devil has come down unto you having great wrath for he knows he has but a short time. When Satan's time is short that means he will work doubly hard to destroy the house that is supposed to be the house of Allah (God).

Satan's desire is to make everyone in the house unworthy of Him whom they claim to believe in. This is why there is such a need for prayer and praise and proper preaching. Proper preaching is preaching that is consistent with the times and the nature of things so that in the hour when Satan attacks the house and the people of God that your preaching constantly keeps the servants of God fortified. Proper preaching will revive; it will restore proper family life; it will restore church life and keep us reminded of spiritual values in a world that has gone materially crazy.

All of us believe in the return of Christ. And the scriptures teach us that before His return there would be certain signs of His return, and He warns us not to be heedless of the signs. Practically every sign that points to the return of Christ has already been fulfilled. So His return is imminent. The question is what will He find when He returns and will we be in his favor?

The scriptures don't say He comes to preach. The scriptures say He comes to execute judgment and that judgment will begin first in the House of God. When Moses went away to the mountain and came back, he first snatched his preacher, his representative, Aaron, and asked Aaron why he set up a false god while he (Moses) was gone? Moses wanted to know did Aaron not expect him to come back. And so it is today.

We who are preachers are in a dangerous position because the handling of the word of God is nothing to play with and the salvation of the people is nothing to play with. Preaching Jesus Christ is not big business. Preaching Christ is serious. How we handle the word of Allah (God) can sentence people to death or prepare them for eternal life. On His (Christ's) return how will He find His house? Is it really His house or has it been taken over? Satan is angry because he has but a short time and he's got everybody else so why not attack the House of Allah (God).

The situation today reminds me of the book of Job when the servants of God, the sons of God, came to present themselves before Allah (God) and Satan also came with them. Satan was hanging out with the sons of God. But the sons of God were not able to recognize Satan; they had been blinded somewhat. When they came to Allah (God), He asked whence cometh thou Satan. And Satan said I'm coming from up and down, to and fro in the earth seeking whom I may devour. Satan said I've eaten up everything. I've devoured all your servants.

As a Christian, we should have been consumed by Christ to become a part of His body. But Satan said I've been walking up and down, to and fro, seeking whom I may devour. Some of us who think we are of the body of Christ have already been eaten up by Satan. Some of us who think we are in the House of God have transformed the House of God into a house of demons. Why? Because the prayer is not right. It's made to be seen of men. The praise is not right. It's made to be seen of men. Therefore the preaching is not proper and is not saving souls; it has become preaching for vain purposes. That's why the House of God stands in need of revival and restoration.

What is happening in the church that it needs reviving? What's happening in the House of Allah (God) that it needs restoration? What's happening to the men and women of Allah (God) that their preaching is not saving souls but condemning them to death and to eternal fire? The scriptures say we will see Him coming in the clouds of heaven having great power. And they that pierced Him will wail because of Him. He is not coming to preach; that's what we are supposed to be doing. He is coming to judge.

As a spiritual person who has charge of a flock, I would really like Him to be pleased with me. If we as his pastors are not making any demands on His flock that we conform to the standard that He has given us, then we are not having a good prayer and we are not really worthy of any praise because our preaching is not proper.

In the book of Galatians, Paul said he couldn't leave the people because Christ was not yet formed in them. If Christ is formed in you then Allah (God) is formed in you and you become a little Christ with power. You are not powerless in His name. But if you don't have power to condemn sin, if you don't have power to correct your own evil, if you don't have power to inspire men and women to change their lives, then Christ is not a power in you.

Jesus said, Our Father. Well, let's start with father. We know that the Black man is a destroyed man. He is not a good father. He is not a good husband. We are not good brothers to each other. Why? Because we are really disconnected from Our Father. When the disciples asked Jesus, Master, would you teach us how to pray? He said, pray this way: Not my father, but Our Father. If the father of Jesus is your Father and the Father made Jesus so special, why aren't you special? If He (Allah) is Our Father, then Jesus is our elder brother and the same essence that is in Jesus is in all of us. That's why the disciple said how can you say you love Allah (God) whom you have never seen and hate your brother whom you see everyday?

I'm literally terrified of the Christ because He intends to destroy this world. He's not coming back with an olive branch. The Book says He came back at the head of ten thousand and He had a sword in His hand and it was dripping with blood. Isaiah the prophet saw Him coming treading the wine press alone. In the old days a wine press was a huge vat where they put grapes and you would wash your feet and wash your legs and you would get in and tread the grapes down until your garment was red with the juice of the grapes. They saw Him (Christ) coming treading the wine press alone: Treading the wicked down under His feet.

America is under divine judgment even as we speak. She is a great country but she is not righteous. She is not righteous because there are no preachers that will condemn her evil without fear. How can you be of Jesus Christ and afraid to speak His words? How can you be of Jesus Christ and refuse to stand up for His righteousness and let everything and anything go on in the House of God and wink your eye as though you saw nothing?

The book says He doesn't want fornicators in the Kingdom. He doesn't want adulterers in the Kingdom. He doesn't want liars in the Kingdom. If we want to be a part of the Kingdom, don't we have some straightening up to do? And how can the people straighten up if the pastors don't straighten up? We are the shepherds. And if the shepherd isn't right how can the people be right?

Preaching Jesus is big business today. We can ride in nice cars, we can wear nice suits, wear fine shoes, we live from the good of the people because the people want Allah (God). And if they hear God's word coming out of our mouth they don't feel there is nothing too good for us. Some of us get carried away with the material things and we want more cars, more homes, more diamonds, more furs. That's fine if you are doing the work. The shepherd is worthy of his hire. He who treaded down the corn is worthy of his oats. But let's not make preaching big business that we, out of vanity, compete with one another. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

Paul said the Jew and the Gentile are all under sin. There is none righteous, no not one. What would I look like compromising with the world? This is why the world doesn't like Farrakhan. But I'm not trying to be loved by the world, I'm trying to be loved by Him who is on His way. I have the good things of life, but I don't have them because that's all I'm seeking. I'm trying to make people better. That's our job, reverend: Make people better. If you find them in sin, clean them up. If you find them wrong, encourage them to do right and encourage yourself to be an example of the righteousness that you preach.